Will and Keelia
by Ziegles
Summary: Twenty year old college student William Lucas has the ability to talk to Pokémon. At the end of a particularly bad day he meets a wounded Eevee, and the two quickly form a bond. Little do they know a path of adventure and discovery awaits them.
1. Chapter 1 - The Bad Day

Chapter 1 – The Bad Day

At 7:30 in the morning the alarm clock on my nightstand came to life as it began blasting its dreaded beeping sound. I was pulled from my land of dreams with a long displeased groan. My hand shot out from under the covers and found the button that would turn off the beeping that was filling my room. I opened my eyes after a few short moments of peace to take in my surroundings. I was of course in the only bedroom of my apartment. I never was really big on having decoration so it was a plain, functional space. The faint grey light coming from a window revealed the plain walls, furniture, and carpet in the square room.

With a sigh, I got up and began my pre-work morning routine. I stepped into the bathroom that was connected to my room. Again this place was plain and functional as well. In the mirror I saw my unkempt long black hair, deep green eyes, and scraggly facial hair. I was never much of a morning person but I did know that a hot shower worked wonders on my mood. After standing below the jet of steaming hot water I felt better about the long day that was before me.

I walked out into the main area of my apartment after showering to get something for breakfast. The space was modestly furnished with a few couches, a small TV, and an upright piano. At the far corner of the room was a small kitchen area where I opened my fridge to find expired milk and bad eggs. I sighed and just decided to just have some orange juice.

I had put on my work uniform after showering so now all I needed to do was put on my shoes and a jacket before heading off to work. With this done, I grabbed my bike helmet and keys and headed out into the hall. After descending a few flights of stairs I reached the bike rack just next to the exit door. I looked out through the small pane of glass in the door to see the very rainy January morning. I really didn't want to go to my job as a produce stocker in a local supermarket, but it kept the bills paid and I really had no choice. At least today was Saturday and I didn't have class to go to as well. Without any further delay, I pedaled out into the rain.

Now, before I get too far ahead of myself on what happened on this particularly uncheerful day, I think I should tell you all a little bit about myself. My name is William Lucas and I come from Olivine City in the Johto Region. At the onset of this story I lived in an apartment on the outskirts of Goldenrod City. I am an only child and I lived with my dad in Olivine until I moved out when college started. I never knew my mother that well because she died of a rare disease when I was quite young.

Now that I am 20, I look back and see just how different I was from my peers. Nearly every single one of my friends had opted to drop out of school and become trainers, with the majority leaving on the last day of elementary school. I have to admit that I like pokemon and appreciate them, but I never wanted to battle them. I was the quirky kid who liked to read and play music. People would often describe me as being mild, meek, and quiet. But it wasn't just my introverted disposition that set me apart from my shrinking group of friends…and this is where things get a little weird.

I have always had the ability to talk to pokemon. It is beyond being able to make sense of their yips and yelps; it is something deeper in my psyche. It was as if each pokemon I talked to had a unique human-like voice. Regardless of how it works, I really love having this gift. As a child I would just go out into the woods and fields and talk and play with the wild pokemon. Even as a college student living in my apartment in Goldenrod, I would do the same thing in the adjacent woods and fields.

Through talking and playing with pokemon over the years, I think that I have gained a perspective of their world that few other people have. They have a rather orderly social structure, especially at the family level. I first noticed this when I was a child playing with wild pokemon children. After long hours of play, their mothers would always come get them and take them back to their homes in the forests and plains. It bothered me that trainers would at times forcefully capture these creatures and ruin their families and relationships. The pokemon I talked to were somewhat spilt on the issue. Some wanted to have their skills honed and live the good life under the care of a trainer. Others would react with hostility at the sight of any human because they did not want to become some human's plaything.

Unfortunately, sometimes people can be very ignorant to what pokemon are. Pokemon are amazing, intelligent creatures! It pains me greatly to see trainers and many others treating pokemon like either pets or tools, rather than giving them the equal standing that they deserve…but I digress. Now that who I am is out of the way, I can get back to that particularly bad day.

I glanced at my watch before setting the last of the berries onto the fresh fruit display. I had just a few more minutes left in my shift. I was exhausted and just wanted this day to be over. Pedaling for ten minutes in the frigid downpour this morning would have been bad enough. However, I arrived at job in the produce department to find that one of my co-workers had called out. This had forced me to work double time all day long.

I sighed in relief as I punched out on the time clock, having finished my work for the day. I pulled my jacket on and stepped outside into the rainy dusk. Soon I reached the bike rack and unlocked my bicycle with quickly numbing fingers. It was easily below freezing as I rode out toward home in the icy, grey drizzle. There was a strong smell of damp pavement as I pedaled through the city blocks on my way to the apartment. As I neared it, the buildings became fewer and more spread out and the road began to go over several hills.

_Just one more hill and I'll be home,_ I thought to myself. Thoughts of relaxation of hot tea and playing some piano filled my mind as rode the momentum of the second to last hill on my commute. In my day dreaming I noticed an old rusty truck about to go through a large puddle. This puddle happened to be a few yards in front of me, and I suppose that something in my brain just did not connect the dots. I was soon on a crash course with a sizable wall of water. I cursed out loud while trying to get away from the huge splash of dirty, frigid water that was created by the passing vehicle. Though I managed to maneuver my way out of getting even more soaked, I had made my evasive maneuver too sharp. This caused the bike to slip out from under me and tumble down a steep gravel lane between two houses.

Slightly dazed, I got up from the cold concrete having sustained bad scratches on my left arm. My nice jacket was torn up in a few places from the wreck. I looked down the alley and saw my bicycle sliding at little further before coming to a stop next to a trash heap. Convinced that this day was doing everything in its power to get me down, I made my way down the alley. The stinging in my arm was slowly getting worse as I came upon my bike. Thankfully, it seemed to be in okay shape, so I reached down and pulled it upright. As I was about to walk back up the hill with my bike, I heard a strange sound. I turned around and looked for the source of it. Above the drone of the cold rainfall I thought I heard a small squeak. It was barely audible and I wasn't too keen on lingering around much longer to find out. But as I turned to head back up the gravel lane, I heard it again. Faint, yes, but definitely there. This time I also heard where it came from.

I looked on in confusion at a pile of trash bags and cardboard boxes at the side of the lane. It was weird but I could have sworn I heard a sort of yipping sound coming from it. My curiosity getting the best of me, I popped the kick-stand on the bike and stepped over toward the rubbish pile. Again I heard a noise, but this time I could tell it was coming from within one of the partially frozen boxes.

"Is something there?" I asked in the direction of the boxes.

Much to my surprise, I heard in an almost indiscernible whimper, "no no no, please, no!" The voice was that of a little girl.

"A-Are you okay?" I said with concern, which was met with the voice from the box saying, "G-g-g-go away!" The voice seemed to be broken up by rapid shivers. I was genuinely concerned though, and had no plans of just leaving whoever this was.

_What could you be?_ It certainly was not a person, perhaps it was a pokemon? That would not make very much sense though; what would a wild pokemon be doing in this part of the city? Without much further thought, I reached out and lifted the cardboard box.

A bushy brown mass swiftly scampered underneath the other mounds of trash. I could see it shivering there, peeking out from behind a bag of garbage. In its eyes I could see a mixture of contempt and terror.

"Go away, go away, go away!" The little creature whimpered.

"I'm not going away until I know you are alright. Why are you shivering?" I said.

The little eevee furrowed its brow in anger, "B-because it's freezing cold out here, y-you moron!"

I chuckled a bit at the small canine's retort, "Yeah, I'll give that to you, that was kinda stupid." At my comment, the eevee's countenance changed slightly; some of the fear and contempt was replaced with confusion and intrigue. She stared for at me with this expression for a few moments, the rain still falling around us.

"You-you can un-understand me?" She asked still maintaining an edge of anger in her voice.

"Yes, I in fact can!" I said with the best reassuring face I could make. "How about we start with names? I'm Will."

The little creature averted its eyes for a moment and said in a barely audible voice, "K-Keelia…"

"Oh, Keelia. That's a very nice name!" I said in a kind voice. I could see her eyes soften a bit more at my compliment. She also stepped out from behind the trash bag so I could properly see her. Keelia was a full grown eevee with the usual brown and cream colored fur, although there was something off about her. The fur coat of an eevee is usually shiny and full. But as I looked at Keelia's, I saw that it was matted and dull. Her brown eyes were slightly bloodshot as if she had been crying. She was a little on the thin side as well. Even with her fur that would be keeping her warm in this weather, she was still shivering. It was at this moment that I remembered I had a fruit and grain bar in my jacket pocket. I reached into my pocket and found that it was not completely crushed by my fall earlier.

"Would you like something to eat? You look like you need something," I inquired of the little vixen. She was a bit hesitant though and did not come any closer. She wore a face of conflicted emotions.

"So…you d-don't want to h-hurt me and cram m-me inside a red and w-white ball?" Keelia said, the fear from earlier very evident on her face.

"Of course not! Why would I do that? That'd be cruel!" I replied, trying to be as genuine as possible for this scared pokemon. Apparently I am very trustworthy or I just said something right, because she then cautiously began to approach me. "It's okay Keelia, I really won't hurt you," I said gently as I slowly knelt down and offered the snack to her. She approached the rest of the way and was soon ravenously consuming the berry bar. She soon finished it and stood for moment licking her chops

"Um…I'm s-sorry for b-being mean earlier, I-I just don't t-trust humans m-much anymore," she said, avoiding my eyes. Before I could completely process what she meant by that, I felt the little vixen nuzzle up against my hand. "B-but somehow, I know I-I can trust you."

I looked down a Keelia with a warm smile, which she returned with her own weaker one and another nuzzle. I was slightly alarmed when I felt her press up against my hand, for beneath her damp fur, she was burning up! I understood why she was shivering; she had a fever for some reason! I pulled my hand away, which made Keelia look up at me with a surprised expression.

"Keelia! You're burning up, you have a fever!" I said with worry in my voice. "I think you might need to go to the pokemon center." Her long ears flattened and she took a couple steps back at my statement.

"B-but there are m-more people there! Don't make me go!" Cried Keelia. In response I gently took her furry head in between my hands.

"I won't let anyone hurt you or take you. I want to see you get better, okay?" I whispered to her caringly.

"Ok…I'll go. Thanks" She said nuzzling against my hand again. Without much further discussion, I scooped up Keelia in one hand eliciting a yip from the eevee. I went over to my bike and, with my other hand, began to walk it up the gravel lane. As I walked, I noticed something mauve on Keelia's belly. There were four infected-looking scars in her flesh across her brown underside. _That must have been what caused her fever. Just another reason to get her to the pokemon center!_ When I reached the top of the lane, I mounted my bicycle and turned back toward the heart of the city. Before taking off, I unzipped the front of my jacket and slipped Keelia down inside between my shirt and jacket. With Keelia's trembling body curled up safely, I took off toward town with as must vigor as my cold, tired body could muster.

I had been to a pokemon center before, but it had been a long while since. Once on a hiking trip with my dad we stopped at one in Ecruteak City. Never would I have guessed that I would need to go to the one here in Goldenrod. I only vaguely knew its location; it was somewhere a few blocks to the south of the grocery store that I work at. After a few minutes, I could see the big glowing pokeball sign up ahead that marked the location of the pokemon center. I pedaled over to it, still feeling Keelia's little body shivering unceasingly. I picked Keelia out of my jacket and parked my bike next to the entrance.

Harsh florescent light coupled with clean white floor tiles greeted me as I stepped through the automatic doors. Keelia pressed a bit firmer up against chest. A pink haired nurse stood ready to attend to me.

"Good evening! Welcome to the Goldenrod City Pokemon Center! How may I help you?" She said with a bright voice that betrayed the current weather.

"Good evening, can you heal this eevee? She has a fever and some infected scars." I replied.

"Of course, I'll have it healed up in a jiffy!" The cheery nurse said as she reached out her hands to take Keelia. Keelia whined and pressed herself even closer to my chest. Seeing this, I gently reassured her.

"Keelia, it's okay, she will help you. Please trust me" I spoke softly to her. She resisted for a few more seconds, but then she relented and allowed herself to be taken into the nurse's arms. She glanced back at me with a worried expression before disappearing behind the operating room door. I nervously paced back and forth in front of the counter for what felt like hours before finally the nurse returned with Keelia sleeping in her arms.

"I applied a spray medicine for her flesh wounds and an antibiotic for her fever. She has to sleep for the medicine to work fully, but she will wake up tomorrow morning looking and feeling great!" The beaming nurse said, "But I did notice that she is still wild. If you want, I can keep her until morning and then release her. But if you want to take her now, you can go right ahead."

I mean not to get too sentimental here, but this decision that was before me was extremely important. Looking back, it literally changed the course of my life. The path I was heading on at the time had no room for pokemon or adventuring. I was supposed to finish college and get a nice job! As I looked at that sleeping eevee however, I knew I just had to take her.

"Thank you, but I think I'll take her with me!" I said as I took Keelia into my arms. Without another word, I walked out of the pokemon center into the cold night air. The rain had stopped and the clouds parted to reveal the bright moon as I headed home with my newest friend. Looking back now, perhaps it was not such a bad day after all.


	2. Chapter 2 - Key

Chapter 2 – Key

The contents of the mostly empty medicine cabinet were revealed as I opened the mirror door. My hand hovered over a few pill bottles and bandage boxes until I spotted a small blue box that read "gauze." The bike injury that I received earlier had practically flown from my mind because of certain recent events. Speaking of recent events, I looked up from bandaging my arm to briefly glance at the sleeping pokemon on my bed. Keelia, my newest friend.

I was surprised that she warmed up to me as fast as she did. Thinking back to the many encounters I have had with wild pokemon over the years, it was easy for me to be surprised. When a wild pokemon doesn't like you or any humans for that matter, it is difficult to move them from that stance. I half expected Keelia to run away or attack me like many others have, but she seemed different.

Having finished bandaging my arm, I turned off the lights and sat down on my bed. The only light in the room was the soft, silver moonlight that flitted between the curtains. I looked over again at Keelia's bushy form at the foot of my bed. I felt the same feeling as when I chose to take her at the pokemon center. It was this sort of feeling that I could not pinpoint, but it told me something. It told me that somehow we were meant to find each other, and that together both of our lives would be changed in ways that we never expected. I ceased my musings for the time in favor of sleep. Carefully, I settled myself under the covers so as not to knock the sleeping eevee off my bed. Only a few moments after I laid my head on the pillow, I felt my mind drifting into the void of sleep.

I sat up and opened my eyes. Immediately, I shut them again. For some reason, I was in a brightly lit room! After taking a few moments to allow my vision to adjust to the harsh light, I looked around. I was sitting at a desk with a phone and computer in some sort of office. I could not tell why, but everything was blurry and it seemed as though my senses were muted. As I took in my blurred surroundings, I could have sworn that the walls were getting closer to me. I would turn one way, then look back. By the time I looked back, the wall was definitely closer. In a matter of moments, the walls had come within inches of my chair and the desk on all sides. I began to panic, and I did the only thing I could do to get out of this situation. I closed my eyes. At that moment, I felt myself falling into blackness.

Suddenly, I was standing in the center of a clearing with trees surrounding me. Confused, I looked around at the lush forest barring me on sides. It took a few moments, but I realized that I had fallen from my bizarre office dream into this oddly vivid one. I could feel the cool forest breeze on my skin, see the verdant woodland around me in exquisite detail, and smell the damp scent of exposed soil.

From somewhere behind me, I heard a stifled giggle. I turned to see Keelia poking her head through a bush with a small smirk on her face. Without an exchange of words, somehow we both knew what would happen next. Keelia turned and bolted off into the forest. On some kind of instinct, I felt my legs propel me after her. What a dream! Just me and Keelia laughing as we played an endless simple game of tag in the woods.

There was something more though, something strangely fulfilling about our little game. It was as if some long-dormant desire had awoken within me. I, for lack of a better word, just felt…free. Really free for the first time in what felt like forever. It was great.

Some far-off crashing noise pulled me from the dream.

With a long yawn, I opened my eyes to see streaks of sunlight laying across my bedroom. The dreams I just had felt like they had lasted a few minutes, and they were just bizarre! They also seemed to stay in my memory like they were actual things I did a few minutes before. When I awoke from other dreams, it always felt like the memory of it was slipping away with every minute that I was awake. Still after a few moments of pondering this, I could recall every detail of the dreams. The appearance of Keelia in the doorway pulled me from my thoughts.

"Good morning Keelia, how are you feeling?" I asked, the sleep still clear in my voice. Keelia did not respond, she just slowly walked up to the left side of bed with her head hung.

"I broke something in there," she gestured with her head toward the living room, "I'm sorry Will, but my tail is bushy and I wasn't looking and-"

"I think I know what you're talking about Keelia, and it's okay, I understand. I'm not mad at you." I said caringly, recalling that I left a glass on the living room table. "I'll go clean it up." Keelia would occasionally sneak bashful glances up at me as I got up and made my way to the living room. Sure enough, scattered across the floor beneath the coffee table were several pieces of sharp glass.

"Keelia, it really isn't that big of a deal. I shouldn't have left the thing out to begin with," I said, having finished sweeping up the mess without a word from Keelia.

"Thanks, I just didn't want to upset you since you were nice enough to take me in. I didn't want to be a burden. You have shown me that humans can be nice, and that's something that I've never experienced," she said after a moment, looking me in the eyes.

"You'll never be a burden to me, but I think you'll find that I can be a burden to you. It's just sort of my personality," I said with a laugh, which earned a laugh from Keelia too.

"Much better!" Keelia said after I dumped the broken shards of glass into the trashcan.

"Hmm? Much better?" I asked.

"Yeah, much better! You asked me how I was feeling a few minutes ago. I'm feeling much better, thanks!"

"That's great to hear Keelia, I was really worried about you."

There were a few moments with me taking in the beautiful morning through the window and Keelia shuffling from paw to paw.

"Uh, I gotta pee Will," Keelia said shyly.

"Well, I don't think you'd be too keen on using the toilet, so how about we go for a morning walk? It looks gorgeous out there."

"Sure that sounds good! But what's a toilet?" Keelia yipped.

I laughed for a bit as I went and got my jacket. "I'll tell you later, after our walk I'll give you the grand tour!" I said making a sweeping gesture with a hand. Without much further preparation, we went out the door and down the stairs. Soon we were walking across the parking lot toward the woods. The morning air was crisp and the sky was a clear blue without a single cloud. Winters in the Johto region were not much, usually just cold rain and rarely a bit of snow, and this one was no exception. It was not going to be cold for much longer, and this beautiful day was just an indicator of that.

We made our way down a little path in the woods that led to a small creek. Keelia, finding a suitable place to relieve herself, trotted off the path. With a few moments to myself, I examined my jacket where it was torn up. This jacket was still usable, but it had an oval-shaped hole running the full length of my left forearm. I pulled up the damaged sleeve so I could check the gauze that was wrapped around the scratches beneath. The gauze wrapping looked good without any visible bloodstains showing through. That was good, but it still stung somewhat and was sore to the touch. I guess it was more bruised that anything else.

"That was one reason that I decided to trust you, Will." Keelia had returned from her business and was now speaking to me with a small smile on her face. I chuckled at this remark.

"You decided to trust me because I was an idiot and crashed my bike," I snorted.

"No, it was because you seemed to ignore your injury and cared more about my well-being than your own. It was then a little bit easier to trust you," she said, still giving me the small smile. In her eyes I could see genuine respect.

"Well, I'm humbled that you think of me like that. I'm sure anyone else who was in my situation would have done the same thing. You're just too darn cute!" I replied, reaching down and ruffling the little normal-type's head fur. She giggled and pawed a little bit at her spiky head fur, bringing it back into a comfortable level of messy.

"There's something more though, some other reason that I knew I could trust you. I feel like…we're connected in some sort of way. I don't know, but when I look at you, I have this feeling that we were maybe meant to find each other. And there is also this weird, almost pulling, that tells me our lives will never be the same just because we met each other. I don't know, I'm weird I guess," Keelia said in an oddly wistful voice that was very out of character for her.

"I suppose that we can be weird together, because I feel the same way!" though I was a bit confused myself that we had felt the same way about this. I dismissed it though, and filed it in my brain somewhere behind that first chemistry exam. "Okay, I think we should be heading back now, you look like you could use a good bath!" It was true, though she may have been feeling well, her coat was still looking quite muddy and matted.

A cool morning breeze washed over us as we walked back to the apartment complex. When we got back up my apartment, I gave Keelia the grand tour of the whole 3 rooms that make up the space. I do not think that she had ever been in this sort of human home before, and many things were new to her. This made what was supposed to be a very brief tour last far longer because I had to explain why I had so many "weird" things as she put it. She was especially confused when I got around to explaining what the toilet was used for. After that, we settled down for a bit of breakfast. The hardy meal consisted of a couple of those fruit and grain bars that I fed to Keelia the previous night.

"So, how about that bath now?" I said while throwing away the fruit bar wrappers.

"Sure, I love water!" she yipped in reply. She then ran across the room excitedly, and was already sitting on the edge of the tub by the time I entered the bathroom.

"Sorry, but I only have this 'people' shampoo, but it should still work," I said a little louder than normal because of the hot water gushing into the tub.

"It's okay, it will still feel great!" she said excitedly as she jumped into the steaming water. As the water got deeper, she began to swim around in a little circle. Occasionally her tail would flick around and sling water in my direction. I would respond by flicking some water at her myself, but it was hardly effective as she was soaked already. After she had settled down a little, I began to lather up her fur. Filth that had built up in her thick fur ebbed away into the water as I continued my work. Every now and then, I would get a giggle and a squirm from the eevee when I got to a ticklish spot. Eventually, I finished and dried her off.

"Sorry, but only human stuff in my household," I chuckled, brushing Keelia's fur with my own hairbrush. She did not seem to mind, although it probably was a bit uncomfortable for her with her thick fur. Satisfied with my work, I picked her up and held her in front of the mirror so she could see her reflection.

"Much better now, right?" I asked.

"Right! Thanks!" she replied cheerfully. She was admiring her now shiny and full coat in the mirror with a smirk on her fuzzy face.

So the rest of that day went on, quite unlike most other Sunday afternoons at my apartment. The introduction of a new friend, a pokemon no less, had added a brightness to my day that went beyond the inherent charm of it. The weather was great, and I had no homework to do. What better could I ask for? Well, I found that answer in Keelia.

The sun was setting gracefully over Goldenrod city; the beautiful day was fabulously brought to a close by a vivid display of colors painting the sky. Keelia and I were on another walk as we took in the great view of the sunset through the trees. The sunset was beautiful and all, but the day was ending. Its beauty was somewhat muted in my mind. In no time at all, it would be Monday again and I would have to fall back into the rut of routine.

After a few more minutes, we headed back to the apartment. I was feeling even more down when we got back, and Keelia had noticed.

"Hey Will, what's wrong?" she asked. Bless her heart, she was actually concerned about me.

"Nothing really, I just have a lot of human things to do this week starting tomorrow. I get burned out on them because they are repetitive and stressful. I see how free you are, and it makes me realize the truth that I don't always enjoy what I do. But I really shouldn't be complaining about this. It's nothing, really," I said tiredly, staring off into space. I needed to unwind, and I knew exactly what would help with that. I turned to Keelia who had a concerned complexion, "Do you want to hear me play some piano?" I asked with a small smile appearing on my face.

"I guess…what is a piano again?" She asked with a cute, puzzled expression.

"Here, I'll show you," I said with a grin, walking over to the old upright piano. It may have been old and beaten up, but it was tuned well and was a pleasure to play on. I lifted the wooden cover to reveal the black and white keys. I seated myself on the bench in front of it and positioned my hands. Keelia hopped up next to me.

"What are you going to do?" Keelia asked, looking at my hands and then back at my face.

"Just listen," was my reply. I began to play. My cares and worries proceeded to fade away as the music flowed from my hands. It always worked this sort of magic on my mood. It was because in those moments of playing, nothing in the world mattered. It was just me and the music that was flowing from me. The next riff, the next chord, and the next melody; that was all that mattered. I finished my first piece feeling relaxed.

"That was cool!" Keelia said, her eyes wide and her long ears standing up.

"Thanks, it's just something I like to do in my free time! I have found that it really helps me relax," I said modestly.

"Really, that is cool! How does this thing work anyway?" she said leaning forward and examining the keys. She then reached out and touched one, then pressed down. When it made a sound, her ears jumped and she grinned. Soon she was using both of her front paws and hitting random notes. It did not exactly sound too great, but she was having a blast.

"Hey, I just thought of a good nickname for you! That is, if you wouldn't mind," I said eagerly.

"Huh? And what would that be?" She said with a sideways glance from her playing.

"Key," I said proudly, "You really seem to love these piano keys, so it makes sense right?"

"Key? I like it! You can call me that as much as you want!" she replied, grinning.

The next couple hours consisted of me teaching Key how to play simple little songs with varying degrees of success. The cares of tomorrow seemed not so big when I saw how much fun she was having. This is funny, because I always considered myself to be a very boring person. Eventually, I managed to pull her away from the piano because it was starting to get late. I had learned from a very grumpy elderly man across the hall to not play the piano after dark.

We went out for one last walk for the night, and on the way back I tried to start up a conversation.

"Hey Key, were you traveling alone before I found you? And for that matter, do you think your family will start to wonder where you are?" I asked. What I got in response was not what I was expecting at all. I heard a little whine, which got me to look down intently at the now prone form of Keelia on the ground.

She was crying.

"Whoa, Keelia! Are you okay? Did you get hurt?" I asked with sudden concern. I knelt down and examined her body. There were no scratches or bumps anywhere, so why was she crying?

Suddenly, it all made sense. Her comment about the red and white ball from yesterday, her fear of humans, the scars on her belly…it all made sense. I did not know the exact details, but I was sure of one thing. She had an encounter with the worst type of person, a careless trainer.


	3. Chapter 3 - Separated

Chapter 3 – Separated

(Keelia)

Will's question hit me like a ton of bricks. I had been trying to seem strong, but I knew deep down that I was scarred by recent events. I know that he had told me that I would never be a burden, but I really just wanted to carry this weight on my own. Like the little girl I still was, I fell apart when he brought up that question. I was supposed to be tough, I was going to evolve soon! With Will though, saving face did not matter. I felt as though I could tell him everything, and it would be okay. So after a long few minutes of sobbing and sniffling, I replied to his question in a shaky voice.

"I-I was hoping that this wouldn't come up now, but it seems unavoidable. Please don't think any less of me, I didn't mean to break down like this."

"Oh Keelia," Will said softly. I looked up and caught his eyes. They were deep green, and brimming with concern. "What happened to you?"

"I-uh…It's a long story," is all I managed to get out. Though I was finding it difficult to speak right then, my personal resistance was becoming weaker. I was going to tell him everything. "Can we go back to your den? I'll tell you everything," I said quietly, still feeling no less downcast.

"Yeah Key, we'll go back. And, thanks," He said, "Allow me." I looked up again to see his beaming face as he scooped me up into his arms. I was just a little too depressed to be surprised, and I just laid limp in his arms for the duration of the trip back to the apartment. I really should have thanked him or acknowledged him or something, but I was too caught up in trying to figure out how to tell him everything. In no time at all it seemed, we were back in his apartment. So we sat and I told him all about what was bothering me and why I was alone. Whenever I would feel the pain coming back, I would stop and we would sit there for a few minutes until I could move on. I will spare the details of what I actually said, because that would be me just reciting the babbling mess I spewed out onto Will. Here is a more level-headed version of what I told Will that night.

* * *

><p>Tall grasses buffed be on all sides as I searched for my prize. I could have sworn that I had caught wind of it somewhere around there. I paused for a moment, closing my eyes and allowing my sense of smell to take precedence. After a few moments, I smiled and raised my head, having determined the direction I needed to go.<p>

"Aspear Berries," I muttered to myself as I stole away into the wall of foliage.

Today was a winter day quite similar to many others, I was out foraging for food for my mother and I. Berries were rare around this time of year, so I was very lucky to have found some, especially Aspear berries. They had this wonderful warming effect, and the tart taste was to die for. They weren't easy to find, as they were tucked away down in a small creek hollow that had almost never had a breeze blowing through it. Fortunately for me, the winds were blowing in an odd way today, so I had managed to catch the alluring scent from the hollow. My mother and I had been traveling around, so I didn't know the area too well. That didn't discourage me from following my nose wherever it took me; it never failed me.

I burst through the tall grass into a narrow stretch of forest bordered on both sides by a small creek. That heavenly aroma of the berries was especially strong now as I trotted against the breeze. The creek proved to be no problem as I hopped quickly from one rock to the other. Upon reaching the top of the creek bank, I saw the scraggly aspear berry bush directly in the middle of the tiny stretch of forest. There were maybe a couple dozen of the fruits in total. Almost all of them were plump, yellowish-green, and ready to eat. I wasted no time plucking them off by the bundles of 2 that they grew in. In all, I managed to get six of the large berries by their stems hanging out of my mouth. Feeling satisfied, I turned around and headed back to where I knew my mother was.

On my walk back to the little encampment, there was a bit of extra pip in my step that didn't come from the score with the aspear berries. I mean, yeah, I was pretty happy that I had found them, but something much more important was on my mind. I was going to have the choice to evolve soon at a ceremony my family participated in. All of my kind from across the region gathered for this huge event in our culture. Every Eevee above the age of three (and I had just turned three a few months ago) came to this event and publically chose which form they would like to evolve into. There were all these different kinds of stones in the cavern that we met at that would cause you to evolve. In fact, we had just said goodbye to my dad the day before. He was going to make the journey to Mount Silver, where the ceremony was being held so that he could make preparations and gather the kin. My father was an Umbreon named Brennen. He was stoic and collected, a true warrior and leader of this loose group of our kind across the Johto region. March was not coming fast enough, as that was when the ceremony always was.

With berries in tow, I made my way through the grassy field. The wind had changed slightly, and now I was catching whiffs of my mother's scent. She was likely making a small den for us to sleep in tonight. We had travelled a day's walk from our normal home near a human city to see Dad off, so this was the best that we could do. My mother…she would be so happy to see me coming back with the aspear berries. She was such a great mom, and I loved her so much. She was a beautiful Espeon by the name of Vui. She was so protective and kind to me, and exuded a certain grace and regality. I would wager that she is one of the strongest Espeons in the world too! I wanted to evolve and be strong just like her! I could not wait!

My ears stood up and the fur on my neck bristled before I even knew what was happening. I caught something on the wind that was not mom's scent, and it was coming from just up ahead. Right where I knew my mom was. I slowed my pace and got low to the ground, dropping the aspear berries for the time being. Running on instinct, I stalked up a gentle slope up to the clearing where my mother was setting up camp. It was at this point that I could identify the scent. It was a human…just a human. I relaxed a little bit, remembering all the times that human trainers had tried to cross my mother. It never ended well for them.

Soon, I reached the top of the slope and almost walked right into the clearing. I expected my mother to be standing proudly against whoever this human was. What I saw deeply worried me. There was the human standing with his back to me on my side of the clearing. He was wearing, for some reason, all grey clothing. He simply stood there between me and my mother. My mother was standing on the far side of the clearing, eyeing the man wearily. I realized that something was wrong when I saw her expression. It was of terror and pain. Her beautiful purple eyes were screaming silently at the sight of this man. This confused and worried me greatly. She would have no problem dispatching this person's captured pokemon just like every other time, right? The man took a step forward and pulled out one of those red and white capturing devices that humans used. My mom took a step back at this, and then another. What was going on with her, she could take this guy! It was then in my mind that I began to hear her stress thoughts.

If my mom ever became very worried, angry, or stressed out, she would have these weird things start coming out of her brain that we called stress thoughts. It was something that ran in the family if you chose to evolve into a psychic. The normal telepathic communication that my mother would sometimes use would become a flood of her personal thoughts in these times of stress. It was as if a filter in her telepathic link was removed and everything just started rushing to anyone that was nearby.

I could feel them now, flying at me like angry Beedrills. I staggered a little bit as I began to make sense of them. I could hear ~Where is Keelia?~ and ~They're back…oh no they're back! How are they back!?~ and ~Don't take her! NO-I can't lose her! Where is my little girl!?~ over and over again layering over each other. There was one other thought that I could not quite understand, but it was the clearest among the chaotic noise in my mind. It was some sort of word that started with an "a," but I could not make sense of it. I was pulled from my mind by a loud masculine voice; it was hearing it with my actual ears.

"Heheh…That's right! You better believe it! We _are _back!" the man in grey cackled. "And you are exactly what we need right now! Now just calm down and don't resist if you know what is good for you!"

My mother's thoughts quieted down as she regained focus. I had no idea what this man had meant by this, but it had begun to boil my mother's anger. I could see a fire in her eyes as she stared down this man. She must have been speaking telepathically with him, because he soon laughed and yelled back at her.

"I don't give a shit about your daughter, bitch! I told you, it is you that I'm after!" he retorted with a sneer. My mom began to growl at the man. The gem on her head started to glow as she charged up an attack. "Oh, so that's how it's going to be, eh? Fine! Go! Zoroark!" the man bellowed as he threw the ball that was in his hand.

My brain barely registered what happened next. There was a flash as the man in grey's pokemon was released. I only caught a glimpse of its form before it disappeared. It was some sort of black and red bi-pedal fox. It vanished though, and I was confused. Was there a problem with the capturing device? I got my answer when I saw the fox thing re-appear behind my mother and deliver a blow to her side. She cried out and tumbled several feet before coming to a stop.

"No!" I yelped. I could not help it. This was not going the way it should have been going! Luckily, no seemed to hear me.

My mom shot back up and growled ferociously. Her lavender fur was dirty in spots, which I knew from experience was something that she would not stand for. She became a blur as she moved in for an attack on this strange pokemon. Normally at this point, the trainer would start barking orders at his pokemon. As I watched, he simply just stood there watching the battle with a smug expression. My mom made contact with the fox with her head-butt attack that I was sure would knock the thing out, but something was wrong. The fox that she hit simply disappeared into a puff of smoke. Confused, she saw what was happening a split-second too late. The fox appeared several feet away with a fully charged shadow ball attack. It leveled the ball of ghostly energy and fired before my mother could react. I watched in terror as my mother was blasted off her feet in a cloud of dust and forest debris. The force of the impact nearly knocked me off my feet as well. After the dust had settled, I looked on at the battlefield and saw my mother bloodied and bruised on the ground. She was not moving. The man and the odd fox chuckled at this.

"NO!" I shouted as I dashed forward in the glowing energy of a quick attack. Something in my head just sort of snapped. I had never seen my mother take a hit like that. Maybe if I could just catch that black fox by surprise, I could help my mom out. I was getting strong! I could do it! In a couple of seconds I was up top of the surprised fox. My head impacted the fox's chest, and I heard a couple of ribs break. There was a grunt and a growl as the fox staggered backward. Yes! I had done it! Now it was time to follow up! I was going to hurt this pokemon who had hurt my mom! I quickly shook the dazed feeling out of my head and went in for another quick attack. To my horror, the fox disappeared from in front of me with a very angry glare. Before I had completely processed what had happened, I felt a horrible pain rip through my belly. The fox had appeared behind me and slashed me across the belly with its claws. I was sent flying through the air. What happened? Why was this happening? These thoughts raced in my mind as I flew through the air. I hit the ground hard and rolled a few times before coming to a stop a few feet from my mother. The pain was unbearable. I tried to cry out, but it seemed as though the breath had been knocked out of me. So I just laid there, sobbing.

"How pathetic," came the voice of the human. I could not see him and his voice was slightly muted because of a loud ringing in my ears. "Time to cash in! Return Zoroark! Heheheh," he said happily as he withdrew the fox into the capture device. I wanted so badly to just hurt him in any way I could, but I was paralyzed by pain. The way I had landed had put me facing my mother, but now I could barely see this man on the edge of my vision. He fished something out of his pocket and pointed it at my mother. I knew what it was, and I tried to scream. I tried to do anything to get this to stop, but I was just too weak. There was a bright flash and my mother was sucked into one of those red and white capture devices. I lay there sobbing uncontrollably. The man looked down at me and chuckled and shook his head. He kicked some dirt into my eyes, and then I lost consciousness.

I came to feeling awful physically and mentally. The pain in my underside was nearly unbearable, and my whole body felt sore. My waking thoughts were of my mother, and the events that had just transpired. She was gone. My mother was gone and I had no way of knowing where she was or if she was okay. I began to cry and cry. I had heard of this happening to others, but I thought my mom was the strongest! I closed my eyes and willed for this to all be just a dream. When I opened them, nothing was different. There was the pain, there were the tears, and I was alone.

Eventually, I managed to stand up. It was a pitch black cloudy night. My stomach growled, and I realized with or without mom, I was going to have to eat something. I looked around the battle-ravaged clearing and found where I had come up the slope with the aspear berries. I found the fruit sitting where I had left it surprisingly. Wasting no time, I ate as much as I could. That familiar warming sensation greeted me with every bite and improved my morale the slightest bit. However, I could not help but to think about how much my mother enjoyed aspear berries too. The thought made me cry even harder than I already was. To make things worse, it started raining right as I finished eating. I whined as the cold rain began to pelt my fur.

I wallowed a little bit longer in my sorrow until I came to my senses. I had to do something about this, and I had an idea of where to start. I would not be able to catch up with my dad and tell him what had happened, but I could go back home and get help there. There were a few families there who I know would help. Maybe they would know how to track down this man in grey. Yeah, I would do that. I had to do it for the sake of my mother! Through my pain and the awful weather, I resolved to travel back home. I picked up the last of the berries and headed back to the clearing. From there, I determined the direction back home. I was sure of it, even if I could barely see.

On I walked, for hours and hours. I began to get cold and weak, so I ate the last of the berries.

The berries helped me to feel a bit better, but I still felt cold for some reason. I did not dare slow down though, I had to make it back for mom! On into the grey morning I walked and walked. An acute tiredness began to overtake me after a few hours of walking in the dismal grey daylight. I must have gotten a little bit turned around in the night, because I did not recognize the terrain around me. I had to keep telling myself to keep walking. It was weird, I do not remember much of what happened to me. I felt very cold and my thoughts became less and less sane and logical. I vaguely remember seeing lights up ahead and feeling mildly alarmed. I was not in the right place, but it did not matter. I needed shelter and rest. I did not want to be noticed by any humans, so I found a box of sorts among a pile of garbage and crawled under it.

* * *

><p>So that was it, I told him everything. Or at least, knew the rest from there. I looked up at Will, he was now crying too. He opened his mouth to say something, but then closed it. Instead he wrapped me up in his arms. We just sat for a while crying, waiting for the pain to pass.<p> 


	4. Chapter 4 - What Mattered Most

Chapter 4 – What Mattered Most

(Will)

It was all so odd. I had just finished listening to Keelia tell her story, and now we were both crying. I could not help it, I had never heard something so sad in my whole life. Things had taken a turn for her, and she was really good at hiding it. My anger burned for whoever this man in grey was, but more importantly I was worried about Vui and Keelia.

"Oh…Key, why didn't you tell me sooner? You must have been hurting and wanting to get help for your mother…Why didn't you tell me?" I said after a few minutes of silence, my voice cracking on the word "mother." Arceus, I sounded like such a wimp.

"It's just-I just thought that you wouldn't want to be bothered with my problems. You helped me in my time of need and I didn't want to burden you." Keelia replied in an almost guilty tone. "Especially not with how you said you felt earlier today. You seemed like you had enough of your own problems to deal with."

"Tell me then Key, what are you planning on doing? Are you going to follow through with your original plan?" I asked, realizing that she had been harboring this pain for the whole day I spent with her. She whimpered pitifully in reply.

"I don't know! I-I feel so safe and happy with you, but my mom is somewhere out there! I need to help her, but I don't know where I am exactly, and I don't want to leave you." Keelia whined. She squirmed around in my arms so that she was now looking me in the eyes. I didn't quite know how to respond to this, so I just wiped the matted fur beneath her eyes gently with my thumb.

It was right then, as I was looking at this heartbroken creature, that something became clear. It was something that I had known for a while, but chose not to acknowledge. I did not want tomorrow to come with its work and its school and its stress. I could not bear to fall back into the rut of the routine. It dawned on me anew that there was something wrong with living for tomorrow, with living for the next day off. Call me selfish, but I wanted to make a difference, and this was a golden opportunity.

The heart of the problem was that I wasn't enjoying what I was doing. Some part of me knew that I just had to stick through this part, and that afterwards, life would get better. I would have the job, the house, the car, and everything else I could need. This picture always seemed to be a vague image of my future…just something I planned to do, but could never see myself doing. It was only when I was given this opportunity to just leave it all and help Keelia that I saw who I really was. I did not care if it left me with no income and an incomplete history of higher education. I just knew that if I kept on with what I was doing without Keelia, I might have lost my mind.

Suddenly, this crazy yet perfect idea popped into my mind. All at once it was a brilliant, foolish, dumb, and stupid one. A way to help my new best friend, and to discover what mattered most in my life. I did not care if it took years, I was going to help Key find her mother. A smile grew on my face the more I thought about it. Key must have noticed because she was looking at me with an expression that grew more puzzled by each passing moment.

"Key, I want to help you. I will go wherever you go until we find your mother. We will be in this together, you and me. I promise!" It felt so surreal to say this. It was like some part of me was just waiting for this day to gain its freedom. Key grinned and squirmed out of my grip, springing onto my lap, tail wagging wildly.

"Oh! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you, Will!" She shouted joyfully. Before I could resist, she was bombarding my cheeks with affectionate licks. I felt very odd and tickly, and I burst out laughing.

"Whoa! Key! Chill out you crazy little Eevee!" I declared, between the licks and the laughs. Eventually, when she and I had settled down a bit, I picked her up and jokingly used her white collar fur to wipe the drool off of my face. "Hey! What did you do that for?" she cried out in surprise.

"I know you were happy, but that was gross!" I jested with a mock disgusted look. She seemed to catch my humor because she replied by just nuzzling up against my chest. "So, before you ask, I am going to leave behind all of the 'human things' I was telling you about. You have shown me that I really don't want to stick around with this life. I am more than content in helping you, even if it means that I am losing so many things that this society seems to value." I did not even know why I was saying this, and the surreal feeling just would not go away. I felt like such a rebel, what with abandoning everything that a college student like me was expected to do. For some reason though, it felt so right at the same time.

"So when are we going to leave? Where are we going to go? How fast can you get re-" She started to bombard me with questions.

"Whoa there, slow down. We will figure it out tomorrow. I think if I line things up right, we can even be out of here by tomorrow evening!" I triumphantly stated. "For now, I think it is time we both got some shut-eye."

"Okay! That sounds great!" Key yipped as I stood up and headed to the bedroom with her cradled in my arms. I let Key down before I undressed and settled in for bed. Instead of sleeping at the foot of the bed, Key opted to curl up right next to me with her face buried in my neck. She was just so adorable sometimes.

So I laid there, trying to catch some sleep. Minutes went by, and still I felt no less sleepy. Not wanting to disturb Key who was already fast asleep, I refrained from tossing and turning. Often times when I would have something very important on my mind, I would not be able to sleep and then end up staring at the ceiling for hours. It was almost as if I expected that spot of ceiling to suddenly spell out answers and quell my stress. I know I had seemed strong and sure of myself about leaving it all behind to help Key, but I just did not know what was going to happen to me. What was my employer going to say? Would I be able to make ends meet out there? What would my dad think? My dad had been really encouraging me to get out there and get a degree. He wanted the best for me, and that was to do better than he had. He never finished college, and times were tough when we were growing up. He and my mother had opted to travel the world and train their pokemon companions. He was a great man though, and he worked hard to raise me. What would he think about me just up and leaving this? I mean, I was an adult. I could make my own decisions. I would definitely have to call him, but my mind was set on what I was going to do with Key. I just hoped that he would understand.

Even more minutes went by, and I was still no closer to falling asleep than before. I could now feel Keelia's warm breath on my neck. How did she fall asleep so fast? Suddenly though, the breaths on my neck became frantic, and Key began whine softly in her sleep. Her legs started to twitch and kick as well. I quickly realized that she was experiencing a bad dream, so I gently shook her awake. Knowing what had happened to her recently, the stress would be overwhelming, and a nightmare wouldn't help. Key awoke with a start, and she whined loudly as she swiveled her head from side to side. Her eyes were tearing up and she was whispering something unintelligible.

"Bad dream, Key?" I quietly asked. She seemed to return to her senses at the sound of my voice. She looked over at me and slowly nodded, some of the tears in her eyes spilling out onto her face.

"Yeah, really bad dream," she replied. "How do we know that we will find her…how do we know we will find my mom?" she continued. I did not have an honest answer that I could give to that. I knew that the chance of finding her was very unlikely, but I was going to try even if it bankrupted me.

"Don't worry, we will find her one way or another," I stated plainly, trying to hide the doubts that were swirling around in my mind. I just wished that I could have a surefire way to find Vui, but for now we had to start somewhere.

"Thank you Will, and for what it is worth, I'm just glad that we have each other," she sighed.

"Heh, that is so cheesy, but it means a lot to me," I commented with a tired half-smile. "Let's try to get some sleep, okay? We have a big day ahead of us tomorrow."

"Okay," she said simply as she buried her head again into my neck. Again, she fell asleep first, her exhales becoming slower and coming at even intervals. The ceiling was not offering any answers; I sighed deeply. It took forever, but I finally slipped into clutches of slumber.

The sun was rising beautifully over Goldenrod City as I rode along the road to town. Keelia and I had gotten an early start that morning so that I could get a few things in line before we set out. I rode my bike to my workplace many hours before I was scheduled to come, which was after that day's classes. I was going to leave today, and I only hoped that I could do so on good terms. The manager was a good woman, but I hoped my story would be enough. Keelia was again riding in my jacket, but this time she was riding with her head and front paws sticking out of the top of the zipper.

Cool wind buffeted our faces as I rolled into the parking lot of the grocery store. It felt different this particular time though. I did not have that typical bummed-out feeling that I usually would have when arriving at work. I was never excited for it because I never really had a reason to be. In the place of that bummed-out feeling, I was instead feeling very nervous. I would have left a notice if I would have known earlier, but of course that was not the case. I really hope she understood.

When I came to a halt at the bike rack, Key hopped down out of my jacket. Once I had secured my bike, albeit with sweaty hands, I stepped into the store with Keelia trotting next to me. My place of work, the produce section, was looking as fresh and appealing as ever. Conveniently enough, a few feet away stood my manager, Mrs. Wike. Her back was to me as she stocked a display with potatoes. She was not at all an intimidating woman. She was only about 5'5", but her temper was intimidating. Most of the time, that side of her never came out. In all, she was a very understanding, kind, and capable leader. I glanced a Key quickly as to say, "Now or never," and walked up to Mrs. Wike.

"Good morning Mrs. Wike, how are you doing?" I said in the most casual voice that I could muster. She quickly turned around and gazed at me for a moment with a confused expression.

"Well, good morning to you too Will, I'm doing well," she said in a hesitant tone that matched her body language. There was an awkward moment of me rocking back and forth from my heels to my toes. I stole a look down to see Keelia glancing back and forth from me to Mrs. Wike. My manager happened to see the movement at my feet, because her countenance changed as she looked down there.

"Oh, who is that you have there? Is that a little Eevee I see?" Mrs. Wike asked with a grin, beaming down at Key. Keelia did not seem to appreciate her enthusiasm very much, and opted to take refuge behind my legs. Her bushy tail was still in plain view however. "Ha! She sure is a shy little thing," the manager said, crouching down and looking up to me. "I've never known you to keep a 'mon around Will. What is its name?"

"Her name is Keelia, and she is a very special friend of mine," I said warmly with a reassuring smile aimed toward the canine at my feet. "And I know it is going to sound weird, but she is the reason why I am here today. You see, I'm leaving Goldenrod today" I stated, the nervousness from before now back in full force. Mrs. Wike's confusion from earlier was again written on her features as she stood back up.

"I'm sorry, you're leaving?" she stated in disbelief. I slowly nodded in reply. "Leaving? But why, and why does it have to do with this Eevee?" She sounded as concerned and confused as I thought she would angry. Mrs. Wike knew about my special ability to talk with pokemon, but it still didn't diminish how awkward, rude, and just plain odd talking about this was.

"Please understand, I do not want to be rude or disrespectful in this, but I feel the need to help this little one." I gestured down at Key. "I understand if you want to kill me for suddenly showing up and saying 'I'm leaving', or if you never want to see me again. All I really know right now is that I have to go, and it very well may be permanent" I finally sputtered out. My manager crossed her arms, which was a sign that she was getting fed up or impatient, and replied.

"What makes you think that it is okay to just up and leave like this? You are a good kid Will, I know that, so I know you must have your reasons. Tell me what is going on." Her reply came nothing like the slap in the face that I had expected. Gathering my racing thoughts, I told her what was happening with me.

"A couple nights ago, I found Keelia freezing and slowly dying of a fever in a gutter. She was at first defensive and hostile toward me, but soon became friendly. I had her healed and took her home, where she warmed up to me quickly. I didn't know that she was harboring such a painful past until she told me last night. I had never heard anything more depressing in my life. Her mother was taken from her by some man, and Keelia was beaten and left to fend for herself. I managed to find her, but I don't want to think about what would have happened if I hadn't." I said in a serious tone. To my surprise, Mrs. Wike seemed to be taking it well, she was only gaping a little bit. "I have realized that I don't enjoy what I do here and now with my life. I would want nothing more in my life right now than to help Keelia find her mother, or go flat broke in the process." I almost could not believe that I was saying the words that I was saying, and especially to my boss! "I don't know how to say it any other way, Mrs. Wike…Mrs. Wike?" I asked, not expecting at all what I was seeing. Mrs. Wike had closed the gap between her and me, and had put one of her hands on my shoulder. Confused (but mainly terrified), I looked down at her without anything to say.

"Let me tell you something Will, and please take it to heart," she said in a very serious, somber tone. I could not read any anger in her voice, so I was quite confused about where this was going. She began to open up to me. "When I was a few years younger than you are now, I shared a very similar experience to what has happened to you. You see, I found an Eevee just like you did, abandoned in the woods behind my parents' house. I took him in with the approval of my parents, and we became good friends. I would wait restlessly during the schooldays until the time I could go back home and play with my Eevee friend, who I had named Yanni. We also had a household Chikorita at the time, named Chika, who would always terrorize the timid creature. Frequently, their little skirmishes led to Yanni fleeing the house and hiding out in the woods for a while, hours in some instances. On one normal day, Chika was up to her antics and scared poor Yanni away. This time however, Yanni was gone longer than usual. He didn't come back by the time the sun had set. He wasn't anywhere to be found come the next morning. We posted signs, and considered where he could have gone. He was already captured once, so there was no way he was taken by a random trainer. After three days, there were no leads. I was heartbroken. As it would turn out and as far as we knew, Yanni was gone forever." She paused as if to catch her breath and collect her thoughts. Her eyes where a little misty. "When I found Yanni, He was barely even a hatchling. He hardly even knew his parents, who never seemed to show up. He never knew the love of a father or mother." She spoke all of these things with jaded eyes and even speech, like she was dwelling in the past. After a few moments, she shook her head as she seemed to come back to the present. I spoke up, breaking the sad silence.

"Wow Mrs. Wike, I didn't know that happened to you, I'm sorry. Thank you for sharing though," I said in a polite voice, even though I still did not understand where she was going with this story that she had told. I realized however, that I was out of hot water when she resumed.

"I understand how both of you feel," she said looking at me and at Key, who had come out from behind my legs. "A big difference in our situations is that you _can _go, Will. You have the whole world before you, and you ultimately will choose your own path. So if you have come here for my approval on your…journey, I would have to allow you to go." I heard her say, but my brain only sort of registered it. I felt this huge nervous burden lift from my shoulders.

"So, you all will be fine here? You're really okay with this?" I asked, already knowing the answer.

"Yeah, we'll make do here. You'll definitely be missed! I wish that you didn't have to go like this, we are losing a great worker" Mrs. Wike said with a chuckle.

"Well thank you very much. I'm flattered, really," I laughed, rubbing the back of my head. Out of nowhere, Keelia spoke up from behind me.

"Will, I want to tell Mrs. Wike something, could you translate?" she said, which to Mrs. Wike probably sounded like a jumble of yips and barks.

"Sure, I can do that!" I replied.

"Do what? What is she saying there Will?" my manager asked with a curious tone.

"Keelia would like to tell you something, I'll translate for her."

"Well that's something! It's not every day you have an audience with a pokemon! Let's hear what she has to say, Will." Mrs. Wike crouched down again and looked Keelia in the eyes.

"Don't worry Mrs. Wike, Will and I will find my mother. We'll find her to honor the memory of Yanni! We'll do it for him!" I translated as Key spoke confidently and excitedly. She stood there after I had finished translating and beamed at Mrs. Wike. She was just so amazing sometimes. Mrs. Wike sat there speechless for a little while at the little creature's encouraging words. She then reached out and rubbed Key between her long ears, which Key allowed her to do.

"Thank you Keelia, that means a lot to me," she spoke softly to the Eevee. The moment was cut short as a customer approached Mrs. Wike with a question regarding produce. She spoke to us quickly before she addressed the customer

"Good luck on your journey, both of you! Hope to hear good news from you soon!" She said hurriedly as she turned to help the customer. With a grin aimed down at Keelia, I turned around and walked out of the store. We saddled up on my bike and departed, feeling much better than when we arrived.

On the way back from the grocery store, we made a couple more additional quick stops. The first place that we went was the registrar's office on the campus of Goldenrod University. It was still early enough in the semester for me to drop out of my classes (one of which was meeting at the time) and still be refunded the money that I paid for them. Without hesitation, I withdrew from all of them despite the odd looks I was getting from the employees. After all, it wasn't every day that a student with a clean record came and just dropped out of all their classes. I do not blame them, but I never regretted it. This intense feeling of freedom came over me as I walked back out to my bike with tuition check in hand. I had no responsibilities to really speak of; I had essentially quit my job and dropped out of my classes. I thought about how I was, by all standards, a delinquent, but I was not going to let that define me or bring me down in any way.

Another short bike ride later and we were at the bank. I deposited some of the tuition refund check and cashed the rest for the imminent journey. With that done, Keelia and I headed back to the apartment complex. I became more and more nervous about having to tell my dad that I was resolutely leaving this season in my life. There really was no turning back, not that I would have if I could. I had to help Keelia, I just had to. Something more than just a desire to get away from the life I was living influenced my decision. Again I was subject to this feeling that I did not understand, but I did know that I should trust in it. I have said it before, but I'll say it again. I am weird.

When we arrived at the apartment complex, I took a route that I normally would not take once I entered the gates. Instead of heading to my block, I went over to the landlord's office to let him know what was happening. I had forgotten when exactly my lease would expire, but he reminded me that it was going out in three weeks. That was convenient, I would not have to pay for an apartment I was not using. With that in line, we headed over to my apartment, much to Key's delight. She was practically bouncing off the walls as I sorted through my clothes, camping gear, food, and other supplies in preparation for departing. I had a field day telling a few stories to Key about past camping experiences and explaining what each piece of camping equipment was for. It took a good while to throw everything together, but by the early afternoon I had finished packing everything. Keelia stood atop my fully loaded backpack with tail wagging and eyes shining.

"When are we leaving, Will?" She asked several variations of this question as I paced back and forth, making sure I had everything in order. Eventually, I came to the conclusion that I was indeed ready.

"Soon Key," I muttered with a weak smile. "I still have to call my dad and tell him everything. I can't help but to feel nervous about it."

"It'll be okay, just tell him how cute I am!" Key joked. It was enough to lighten up my mood, because I pulled out my cellphone and dialed my dad. There was only one ring before he answered.

"Hello, Will!" came his voice over the phone.

"Hey dad," I said in a less than enthusiastic tone.

"What's up? How was your first week of winter classes down there?"

"Good, good"

"Well that's great, how is work?"

"Fine"

"Hey, what's wrong Will? You sound out of it," he said with concern. He knew me well, and could tell that something was stressing me even over the phone.

"I really need to tell you something dad, and I want you to understand that I am sorry if it bothers you," I practically whispered.

"Tell me anything, son. What is going on?" he said in a more concerned voice than before. I sighed.

"I'm leaving college, and I'm leaving everything else I am doing here in Goldenrod. I have found something…much more worth my time and effort," I stated with nervous finality.

"Leaving Goldenrod? Why? What is worth more to you?" he said loudly, surprise evident in his digitized voice. I went on to tell him how I meet Keelia, what happened with her, and my reasons for not wanting to stay. After I had finished, there was a long silence on the line.

"The apple doesn't fall far from the tree I suppose, right?" he said with a laugh. I did not expect this sort of reaction, and I was delighted that he took such a light stance on it.

"Heh, yeah I guess it's true what they say. To your credit, your reason for leaving was actually somewhat normal! Going to take on the league and train your pokemon friends hard, that was the dream, right?" I said lightheartedly, reflecting the good vibes I was getting back at him.

"Yeah, you know it, son. It is okay, some part of me kind of expected that you would make this phone call sooner or later. Heh, adventure is in your blood after all."

"So my lease here expires in a couple of weeks, and I'm leaving today so I-"

"Don't worry about it Will," he interrupted, "I'll bring the ol' rustbucket down there to your apartment and get your stuff out and bring it back up here to olivine."

"Thanks dad, that really means a lot to me. I wish I could help but I really ne-"

"It is no problem," he interrupted again, "I'll take care of it," he said in that dismissive father sort of way. "I know how you two must feel, and I understand."

"Thank you dad, I really can't begin to thank you enough fo-" I was interrupted again, but this time by Keelia, who said "Thank you!"

"Was that this Keelia I've heard so much about? What did she say?" my father laughed.

"She said 'Thank you' as well"

"Well, it is no problem!" There was a pause, which was punctuated by a long sigh from my father. "I want you to promise me something though, Will," he spoke in a much more serious manner. I figured that there had to be some sort of kicker. "These kind of people that would do such a thing to family of wild pokemon…they are not the kind of people you want to cross. I don't know who it is or what they are doing, but it is best to leave them to the authorities. Please promise me that Will." It was my turn to be surprised by this sudden change in the conversation, but I obliged. Although I should probably note that I was still harboring that intense hatred for whoever that man in grey was.

"Yes sir, I promise," I said seriously.

"Thank you Will," he sighed. "Well then, what are you waiting for? Get out there with your new friend and start your search for Vui! I'll do anything I can from up here! Best of Luck!"

"Thanks, I'm really, really happy that you are okay with this."

"Mhm, it is no problem, just be safe for me! Bye then, love you!"

"Love you too, bye!" I had hardly gotten a breath out after hanging up when Key started off toward the door. I strapped on my backpack, did a quick pocket check, then stepped out of the door with Keelia treading beside me. We walked out into the cool afternoon sun and headed toward the woods with the city and the apartments behind us. I did not look back. I didn't want to.


	5. Chapter 5 - Past and Present

Chapter 5: Past and Present

(Will)

Streaks of golden sunlight decorated the woodlands Keelia and I were walking through. The weather was warm for mid-January, so the leafless branches above were reaching up almost in desperation for the spring to come. In fact, everything about the forest was yearning for change. It had tasted the goodness of a coming early spring, and was ready for the beautiful transformation into its verdant form. The whole place silently proclaimed its hope for the future, and Keelia and I joined in with it.

After we both had set out, we determined our first place to look. Well, it really wasn't a place that we expected to find Vui, but it was a starting point. We were looking for a couple of Eeveelutions by the names of Vhena and Tren that were close friends of Vui and Brennen. They lived relatively close to where Keelia lived, but the problem was that Keelia did not recognize where she was. When she had stumbled into Goldenrod in her feverous stupor, she lost her sense of direction. So now, we were trekking through the forests and grasslands around the city to try to find a landmark, scent, or anything else that would lead us to these family friends. We hoped that they could help us, or maybe shed some light on things that had happened. We were looking and eager for anything at this point.

"How are you holding up, Key?" I said breathlessly as we crested another wooded hill. We had been trucking along for a little over two hours at this point. She grunted something vaguely affirmative in reply. "Good to hear, do you see or smell anything yet?" I asked after pausing to catch my breath. She paused for a moment to sample the air and take in the view.

"No, not yet," she said simply between her own pants. She seemed a little downcast, so I knelt down and rubbed the back of her neck. She was so tense. I think that her excitement from earlier had sort of burned off. The reality of this matter was beginning to hit her at full force. It was a big world out here, and we had only just begun.

"Don't worry, we'll find something before we set up camp tonight. Even if we have to walk around with a flashlight, we'll find something, okay?" I encouraged her. She perked up a little and then started walking down the slope. Like that, we were off again.

The next few miles of terrain that we hiked through consisted of mostly low grasslands and quiet creek hollows. Every time that we crossed one of the creeks (I envied Key because she could do it without getting wet) Keelia would take a quick drink of water. It soon was not long before she had to answer the call of nature. She informed me of her intentions, and then walked off a little ways to relieve herself. I took this opportunity to lean against a tree and take a sip of my own water. I refrained from sitting down, remembering something that one of my old Scoutmasters had told me long ago. "It is ten times easier to sit down on a hike than it is to get back up again." I chuckled to myself, reminiscing on that man's words. I was pulled from my memories by the sound of Keelia shouting.

"Will! Will! Come look, I think I found something!" came the shouted voice of Keelia from somewhere behind a bank of scraggly bushes. I quickly ran into them without hesitation. Could she have found it already?

"Okay Key, that's great! I'm coming over there now!" I yelled back, breaking through brush and spotting Keelia up ahead.

"Yes! I do see it! Come on Will! Let's go!" She yipped happily as she jogged down toward a clearing in the forest. I gave chase to the ecstatic eevee, backpack bouncing around on my shoulders. I could see it up ahead as well, a simple circular clearing like an island in a small sea of woods. After about half a minute of jogging to keep up with Key, we broke into the clearing. The sun hung low in the sky against the treetops. I hoped that this was the right place, because it was going to get dark soon.

As Keelia slowly pivoted around with squinted eyes, I began to experience something very odd. I, too, looked around the clearing and the adjacent woods, but I could shake this weird feeling. It was this feeling that I had been here, in this very spot, sometime before. I nebulously recalled some of the details of this place, but I knew for a fact that I had never been here before. I just could not put words to the oddity of it all. I was so lost in my deja-vu episode that I scarcely heard Keelia.

"Hey! We are in the right place! Over there is that one boulder that I would climb on top of! Vhena and Tren's place is just past it," she announced as she looked back and forth from it to me.

"Great, that awesome! Let's go, shall we?" I said, bringing my mind back to present matters. It was fantastic; our first lead on finding Vui was just up ahead. Without any more hesitation, Keelia lead the way back into the forest. Past the large grey boulder we walked. Up ahead, I could make out the outline of a sort of burrow. It appeared to be made out of a skeleton of good sized timbers bolstered with pine boughs and leaves.

As we approached the burrow from behind, something became apparent. There was something amiss. First off, there was no one to be seen. Second, there was forest debris everywhere. Splintered sticks and small rocks were scattered around the area. As we got within feet of the burrow, it was evident that there was some sort of struggle here. All around, trees were stripped of their bark. Two good sized craters marked the ground near the entrance to the den.

A horrible, sickening feeling welled up in me as I realized what had happened. I turned to Keelia, and saw that her mouth was agape. In her eyes there was apparent disbelief and horror, as she came to the same conclusion that I did. They were gone, likely taken by the same hands that had kidnapped Vui and beaten Keelia. We did not need to say anything; the truth was painfully obvious to the two of us. I simply fell to my knees and my arms went limp at my sides as the reality of it all hit me.

Who would do such a thing!? Was it not enough to ruin the lives of one family? That goddamned man in grey must have had some sort of agenda, a mere trainer would not be acting with this sort of cruelty. No trainer would have such a malicious intent like the man whom Keelia spoke of did. Anger and confusion coursed through me as I clenched both my fists, clutching two handfuls of dirt and dried leaves. Any relevance of the purpose behind these kidnappings was lost on me when I heard Keelia whimper at my side. I had no words, just fury and loss.

"No! Not Vhena and Tren too! Not them! Not now!" she cried out eventually. My anger and bitterness was forced to the back of my conscience where it slowly simmered. It was swiftly being replaced by compassion for Key. I reached over to her and pulled her close to my side, gently caressing the side of her face. "Why? Why is this happening Will?" she said erratically, trying to fight the tears.

"I-I don't know," I stated, truly being honest with myself and her. "I would like to say that I know why this is happening, but I just don't. It had to have been that man that took Vui and hurt you, but who would do that? Honestly, I'm asking the same question too, Key." I sighed. "Just…why?" We sat for a few minutes in agonizing silence.

"So…where do we go from here? We are as close to finding them as we are to finding mom," Keelia mewled.

"Well that is true, as much as I don't want to admit it." I said with hesitance. "I'm beginning to think that it is no coincidence that this man is targeting your species. We will have to go talk to the authorities, there is no way that this stops with just that man. He is working for someone. You said the he was going to 'cash in,' right?" I inquired. Some of the dots of this whole situation were beginning to connect in my head.

"Yeah, he did say that," Keelia replied, mild intrigue mingled with pain showing in her features. "Why?"

"This might be the work of a criminal group, like Team Rocket. They are gone now. But when they were around, they did all sorts of wicked things to people and Pokémon alike, just for money and power. They abused the power of Pokémon and disrespected their status as sentient creatures. They were murderous and brutal, not the type of people you would want to cross." I paused for a moment to collect my thoughts. "I fear that the man who took your mother, Vhena, and Tren is part of a group such as this."

"How do we get mom back from them? They sound…intimidating."

"That, I'm not sure of. Like I said, we will talk to the authorities next time we are in town. They are the ones who deal with those kind of people." I replied, though it sounded a bit weak as it came out. "I know it's not much, but it is all we can do at this point. We can only hope for the best" I sighed again, seeing my breath dancing in front of my face.

"I guess so," was all I heard in reply from Keelia. She sighed half-heartedly, which worried me and tore me up on the inside. Just seeing that vibrant and fun friend of mine in this sort of emotional duress was too much. I looked down at her sullen face, which she had cast down at the ground. I was reminded that there were pressing matters, however as the cold air sent a chill down my spine. I decided we needed to set up for the night.

"Hey Key? We need to set up camp now." I said, standing up.

"Please, not here," she stated, not looking up.

"Yeah, I agree, at this point this place is just depressing. Let's go." I replied, readjusting my backpack. "We'll keep heading around the city like we were, and we'll eventually break out at the northern road to Ecruteak City. That will be our destination."

"Okay…let's get out of here." She started walking away.

"Right behind you" I said, taking one last look as I followed behind her.

We walked for a short while until the forest was only dimly lit in the bluish dusk. We set up a small tent among a stand of pine trees, and quickly built a fire. As the stars and the moon came out, we stared into the flames silently until I finally spoke.

"I know today wasn't a good day, but we have to keep holding on. We'll make it through, we just have to hold on to hope, Key." I practically whispered to her over the sounds of the crackling fire.

"I'll try Will, but it is hard, and it hurts so badly," she said in a pained tone. After a short pause, she went on. "I have said it before, but I'll say it again. I'm just glad that I'm not out there on my own. I'm glad that I have you with me. You are like the brother that I never had."

"Heh, thanks. Come here, you," I laughed, scooping her up in my arms. We sat for a little while longer, rocking back and forth. When the fire was reduced down to just glowing coals, we turned in for the night. I slipped into the tent, settling myself down in my sleeping bag while Keelia opted to sleep curled up at my neck like she had the previous night. We both heaved burdened sighs as we slipped off to sleep.

I would like to think that happy surprises and coincidences are sometimes perfectly timed. I know that before Keelia came along, I would practically feed off of them in the midst of my busy schedule. They really kept me going on the hardest days. It is truly amazing when you have one of those happen to you right went you need it most.

See, I remained hopeful about the whole situation in trying to find Vui, but Keelia's declining mood was getting to me. I wanted to be strong and hopeful for her, because I knew that she was strong herself. She just needed something, some encouragement. If not for the sake of both of us, then for the sake of Vui, who was out there somewhere. Luckily for us, I woke up to the sound of familiar voices.

I could not believe it! What were the odds? There was no denying it; I was hearing the voice of one of my closest friends from Olivine City, Anthony. The sound of his voice seemed to be moving away, so I swiftly crawled out of my sleeping bag. I glanced down at Key, who was still sleeping soundly despite my sudden movements. As always, she just seemed a little too cute to wake up. I definitely did not want to leave her though. She just had to go meet Anthony, and I would never forgive myself if she fell into malevolent hands. After unzipping the tent flap, I picked her up and made my way out into the crisp morning. The bright morning sunlight caused me to squint, and if Key was not already awake, she woke up then.

"Wuh…What're we doin' Will?" she asked, her speech slurring slightly from having just woken up. I chuckled excitedly.

"Heh, you'll see!" I said with an ear to ear grin. Keelia proceeded to look at me like I had just sprouted a second head. I began to jog in the direction that I heard Anthony's voice coming from.

"Uh, okay then," said to the unconvinced Key. I laughed more when I saw her ears perk up at the sound of the voices up ahead. One was calm, even, and kind sounding. The other sounded like a loud, obnoxious teenager. Just up ahead, we saw a trail at the bottom of a steep bank. I bounded down unto the trail and broke into a full sprint. I could hear them just up ahead, around a bend in the trail. I could then make out what they were actually saying.

"Well, looks like we have one more slice of leftover pizza, Jet. How about we-" the voice was cut off by the other one shouting.

"Mine!" it shouted. After a brief pause it simply said, "Yay!" It was at this point that I made my way around the bend in the trail, and could see two figures up ahead. One was a short creature with a bluish back and a tan belly. He appeared to be gnawing at something. The other figure was tall and thin, wearing a brown jacket.

"You know, you really have an odd affinity for cold pizza. I mean, you are a fire-type and…" said the tall figure humorously. He trailed off however when he realized that his companion was turned around, and his attention was fixed on something behind them. "What is it, Jet?" he asked, turning around himself.

Up ahead, I saw Jet turn around. With his advanced, Pokémon senses, he had heard us coming. I almost did not recognize the little guy. Anthony was my only friend who did not immediately become a trainer. He waited until we finished high school, at which point he went and picked this region's fire-type starter, Cyndaquil, and named him Jet. Since then, He and Jet have travelled around battling and just living life together as best friends, it also seemed as though Jet had evolved. We had stayed in touch, but our physical interactions were mostly limited to holidays when we returned to Olivine and to our respective families. This past Christmas however, he was not around because he was spending it in Kanto with his grandparents.

Anthony had turned around as well. His kind, welcoming face was beaming brightly at the sight of me. He was honestly the nicest person I had ever met, and would go out of his way in any situation he could to be helpful and selfless. Before Anthony or I could say anything, Jet yelled out something.

"Will!" he bellowed with a much deeper voice than I remembered from when he was a Cyndaquil. The slice of pizza that had been the object of their previous conversation fell from his mouth with a _flop_ as he charged at me excitedly. Knowing what was about to happen from experience, I quickly set Keelia down next to me and braced myself for impact. Out of what I presumed to be excitement, flares of flame lit up on top of his head and on his backside as he speedily closed the gap between us. It was clear that I was not prepared for the punch that this little guy was packing, because I was taken to the ground as the ecstatic fire-type bore down on me.

"Ooof!" I exhaled, getting the air knocked from my lungs. I really should not have opened my mouth, because Jet began to lick at my face. One of the swipes of his scalding hot tongue went over my parted lips, while another went right up my nostrils. "Ewwwww!" I hollered, trying not to laugh.

"Hey! What are you doing to Will!?" I heard Keelia say sharply to Jet. Luckily for me, the tongue bath stopped almost immediately. Jet turned to acknowledge Keelia, who I bet he had not even noticed until right then. I couldn't contain myself anymore and laughed out loud at this.

"Key, Key! Don't worry! This is Jet, and he hasn't seen me in a while. I suppose he is just really excited to see me!" I said happily. Jet gave me a sheepish grin and hopped off of my chest onto the ground, propping himself up on his rear legs. Keelia blushed and looked down, embarrassed at having made a scene of the friendly interaction. "Heh, I don't blame you for being worried, Key" I encouraged her, patting her head. I turned back to acknowledge the Quilava. "You looked pretty ferocious when you were running at me, bud! You had me worried for a second! And I'm digging the new look!" I complimented. Jet's face reddened in response.

"Thanks! It's awesome! I feel so much better now that I'm evolved," he stated proudly, making excited waving gestures with his stubby front appendages. I chuckled a little at his excitement, using my sleeve to wipe off some of the saliva from my face. Next, Key and Jet introduced themselves to each other. I looked on with a content smile at the two until I saw Anthony standing over me. He offered his hand to me to help me get up, as I was still sitting on the ground where Jet had tackled me. Taking his hand, he pulled me up into an unexpected hug. I was a bit surprised at first, but I soon returned the embrace.

"Good to see you, Will, it has been too long," he said warmly.

"Yeah, great to see you too, man," I replied, giving him a few pats on the back before releasing the hug. "It has been too long."

"So, what are you doing out and about, especially with a Pokémon?" he asked after a short pause.

"Well, that is quite a long story, I hope you don't have anywhere you have to be," I stated with a small chuckle.

"Oh, you know me. Never really have anywhere to be. We just sort of let the wind take us wherever! I do however have some business to take care of in Blackthorn City, so we are headed over in that direction," he said in his usual carefree sort of way.

"Well, that's good. Would you mind coming back to our camp so that we can pack up? We are headed up toward Ecruteak City ourselves."

"Wow, that's awesome! I'd be glad to help you pack!"

"Hey, you two getting along?" I asked the two Pokémon, who were socializing just a few feet away.

"Yeah!" they both said in unison. I'm glad that they were, Keelia's morale seemed to have been raised slightly.

"Great, we are going to break camp and then set off together!" I stated, looking over to Anthony. He gestured back down the trail where Keelia and I had come from.

"Lead the way," he said with a nod.

We walked back down the trail and up into the woods where our camp was. As we walked and took down the tent and everything, I told Anthony (and Jet) all about why I was traveling and not in college. I also told them all about Keelia, how we met and her backstory. Keelia and I found it hard keep our emotions at bay as I explained everything to the two.

"And…that's about it. I know it isn't a very happy story, but it is where we are. We are just hoping for some sort of lead at this point. Regardless, it is a blessing that we were able to meet up with you." I said at first with a burdened sigh, but then with a smile of genuine appreciation. He nodded back at me with a half-smile.

"I can't imagine what that must be like," Anthony said solemnly after a long silence. I glanced over to Jet to see that he was downcast from the story as well. Keelia was fighting tears as I held her in my arms. The continued beautiful weather smiling on us was hardly brightening the grim mood at the moment. Finally, Anthony broke the silence again. "We have been hearing about an old crime syndicate rearing its head again for the first time in years, but that is just talk on the road. Rarely does that stuff ever have truth behind it. With what you are saying though, I think this might be a very real thing."

"Really? Then that has to be it. Arceus knows what the motives behind these kidnappings are, but it is good that we know that they aren't just isolated events" I sighed. "What I'm getting hung up on is how we can track down these people and bring them to the authorities, and also how to get Vui and the others back," I added, exhaling sharply through my nostrils. Anthony, seeing how stressed I was getting, stepped over to me and put a hand on my shoulder.

"Like I said, Jet and I basically have nowhere that we have to be anytime soon, so we would be glad to help you two get to the bottom of this and find Vui, and who knows how many others." he reaffirmed with an assuring smile. Jet himself looked up to me and gave a nod. Keelia looked up at me with teary eyes, then squirmed out of my grip and landed on the ground. She immediately began to walk back out toward the trail.

"Where are you going Keelia?" I asked, slightly confused.

"Each step we take is a step closer to finding my mom," she said, not turning around. _Atta girl_, I thought, a grin spreading across my face. My back pack was already loaded up, so we were ready to go.

"Well, I think we'll be going, gentlemen," I said to Anthony and Jet. We fell in line behind Keelia and hiked off into the morning.

(A few days later, somewhere in a rundown part of Ecruteak City)

The old, abandoned pokeball assembly factory on 6th street fit in nicely with the other rundown buildings in that forsaken part of Ecruteak. Some of the teenagers from around town had thrown rocks at some of the windows. The plain, sheet metal walls were rusting in spots. Graffiti decorated the inside and outside.

A white van pulled up to an alley adjacent to the white-washed factory at a rather high speed. Tires squealed as it came to a halt. The driver's side door flung open and a man garbed in grey hastily walked away from it and into the building. Unbeknownst to him, he was being watched by a woman perched the window of an abandoned apartment building across the street. The woman, upon observing this, raised a radio to her mouth and spoke.

"The target has entered the building. Get to work now on that van, and be careful!" she said over the short-wave channel.

"Roger that, moving in now," came a crackly reply over the radio connection. A group of people stalked quietly from around a corner in the alley that the van was parked in. They wasted no time noiselessly opening the hood and removing a few certain parts from the vehicle. After only about one minute, a man in the group gave a thumbs up to the woman in the apartment building, which she returned. They stole away back into the alley. Shortly after, the man in grey stepped back out into the alley, got into the van, started it, and took off. Soon after his departure, a black SUV came around the alley and pulled onto 6th street. The woman exited the apartment building and hopped into the passenger seat, the vehicle taking off before she had shut her door.

"His van should be breaking down in about ten minutes," said the driver of the SUV.

"Good," the woman replied.

(Will)

The first signs of dusk began to show in the sky as our group walked along a winding back road. For a few days since we met up with Anthony and Jet we traveled the forest trail. It eventually had come up to run parallel with a north to south forest road that supposedly lead to Ecruteak. I was assured by Anthony that we would be in the city before it got too dark. He kept saying, "Just around the next corner." The reality was that around every bend there was just more road, creek, and forest to be seen. I did not want to doubt his judgment, but the next car I saw going past I would wave down and ask if we were even on the right road. Speaking of which, I had not seen a car come down the road in quite a while. The road must not have been used very much.

Despite that, the journey up until this point had proven to be rather enjoyable considering the burden of our task. It really was a blessing to finally be able to catch up with my friend after over a year without seeing him in person. It was fun to be around Anthony and Jet as always, and Keelia was really coming out of her shell. She seemed to respond well around people who genuinely loved on her and cared about her, and these guys were no exception. We all went out of our way to try and keep Keelia's morale up. Jet would occasionally play with her. Anthony had these really awesome dried berries that he would occasionally offer to her. I was always there for her when she felt the hurt coming back. Still, even in my most cheerful interactions with her, I could not completely stifle a growing sense of unease and doubt. I tried my very best to push these thoughts aside and remain strong and hopeful for her.

After a few more minutes (and another bend in the road not yielding a view of the city up ahead) we finally spotted a car coming up the road towards us. It appeared to be some sort of white utility van that cable or internet people would drive around in. I looked directly at it and waved my arms around, trying to wave the van down so that I could ask for directions. Anthony looked over at me and figured out was I was doing. Like the great guy he was, he did not try and stop me. Instead, he shrugged and gave me a nervous grin. I chuckled and returned my attention to the van up ahead, which for some reason was coming to a stop a couple hundred feet in front of our group. My confusion was short lived though, as I noticed smoke and steam billowing from under the hood of the van. It had broken down. In reaction, we sort of picked up the pace, wondering what the problem was. It was about at this time that the driver of the van got out and began shouting a verbal tirade at the steaming vehicle. The man was dressed in grey slacks and a grey jacket, which of course piqued my interest. He quickly made his way around to the back of the van, then returned with a tool box. At this point, we were coming up about forty feet away from the guy.

Keelia began acting strange. Her tail went down in between her legs. Her long ears shot back and laid down on her neck. She whined unnervingly. As I looked to her with concern, an idea of what might be happening crossed my mind.

"Uh, Keelia? Are you okay?" I inquired, even though she clearly was not.

"That's him Will! That's the man who took my mom!" she whispered loudly, her voice a mixture of terror and anger.

"Are you sure?" I asked, my own rage beginning to boil. She would not lie about something like this.

"Yes! It is him! I smell him! It's the same guy…Will?" she said hurriedly, confused for a moment because I had begun to walk toward the van. I glared back at her and the rest of our group.

"Stay back," I said in a tone that was not my own. It was dark and venomous. The others recoiled slightly at my instruction, but none of them said anything or tried to follow. Anthony especially looked very confused, but he did not move. That was good. I had a bone to pick with this man. All of my other cares and worries vanished from my mind as I thought about what this man had done. His reasons, his pay, and even the group he might have been tied with did not matter much to me. I just wanted to make him feel the pain that I saw in Keelia's tear filled eyes every night. I wanted him to feel what it was like to be beaten and left for dead. I wanted revenge for my friend.

"Hey there man, you need any help?" I asked in the most normal voice that I could. The man in grey up until this point had ignored me and my group. He had his head under the hood of the van and appeared to be trying to find the reason behind the breakdown. Without turning around, he replied to me.

"No! I got it, thanks!" he said unappreciatively. I really did not care what he said, but I used his temporary ignorance of my intentions to my advantage. I slowly reached into the toolbox that he had set down on the ground at his feet and grabbed a large red wrench. I managed to maintain a bit of sense in my trembling rage, because I noticed a single pokeball on the man's belt. Knowing how strong that Zoroark was, I did not want it coming out. At this point the man glanced back at me angrily. It was then that I acted.

In one fluid motion, I used one hand to quickly pop the shrunken pokeball out of the man's belt, while I took a swing at the man's head with the other holding the wrench. The ball popped out of the belt and hit the ground rolling, expanding to its full size but not releasing the pokemon inside. I had caught the man completely off-guard, and nailed him directly in the left cheek. He staggered to the side out of reflex, making brief eye contact. I reveled in the shock, fear, and pain I saw in his eyes as he reached for his belt only to find that nothing was there. I wasted no time in taking another swing at the man, this one from the right. I swung hard and ruthlessly; he did not deserve less. Blood and a few pieces of broken teeth flew from his agape mouth. It felt so good. I hit him again and again. With each blow, I could feel an insatiable rage burning inside me. I raised the wrench up again for another, and the man on the ground below me whimpered and lifted his hands to his face. My rage was stifled as I saw his pathetic display, just enough for me to truly come back to my senses for a moment. This man took Vui, Tren, Vhena, and who knew how many others. I had to get information out of him, and he looked like he was willing to do anything to get me to stop.

"Get up!" I shouted gruffly, grabbing the man by his collar and lifting him up. I walked him roughly over to the side of the van, and then slammed him up against it with a strength I did not know I had. I mean, I kept myself in okay shape, but I never figured that I would be trashing some guy around. I stood at 6'2", while this man was maybe around 5'10". Maybe that was it. "I have some questions for you, and you better answer them truthfully, if you value your life!" I yelled in the man's face.

"O-okay," the man replied meekly, some blood from his mouth spilling out onto his chin. What a whelp! He was even so quick to betray his organization!

"You abducted several evolved forms of Eevee during the past week. Don't you dare deny it!" I gave him a violent shake as I said this. "Where did you take them?!"

"Wait, are you talking about that crazy Espeon bitch?" he sputtered out. I give him a swift jab to the kidney for his slur. He doubled over slightly in pain.

"Yes, 'that crazy Espeon bitch!'" I yelled ferociously at him. "Her name is Vui! Where is she and the others?"

"I don't know!" he said, gagging as blood went down his throat. "She escaped!" Immediately, my rage was replaced with a sudden hope.

"What did you say?"

"She escaped and wrecked our operation south of Blackthorn City! I had dropped her off along with the others, but then got a panicked call less than twenty minutes later." He hesitated to catch his breath, "She had razed the place to the ground. By the time I got back, she and the others were gone!" he said quickly, trying not to trip over his own words. "That is all I know! I'm telling the truth, I swear!"

I was so relieved to hear that. Vui was okay and out there somewhere, she had escaped! In my relief, I let go of the man's collar. Without me supporting him, he sort of just slumped to the ground. I turned around with a smile on my face, eager to tell the others. What I saw wiped the smile promptly from my face. I was looking down the barrel of a handgun.

"That's quite enough for now," the woman holding the gun to my head calmly said.


	6. Chapter 6 - The Love of a Mother

Chapter 6 – The Love of a Mother

(Vui)

I did not know what to expect when I was sucked into that human device called a pokeball, but what I experienced thoroughly disgusted me.

There was no pain like I had expected, but instead soothing comfort. I was wounded badly in the fight I had with the Zoroark. I admit, I was very much so outclassed by the odd Unovan creature. I watched in horror as my little girl, _my Keelia_, was trounced as well. After that, I was pulled into the pokeball. It would make more sense in my mind for me to describe it as a feeling, not a place where this ball took you. Whether or not I closed my eyes, it all looked the same. It was a most bizarre experience.

Again, there was no pain, but an immense euphoric feeling. I was tempted to fall into it, and I feel as though I partially did for some amount of time. The good feelings spoke words into the very center of my mind. They said things like, "That man isn't so bad," and, "You can trust him." I came very, very close in my strange drowsiness to agreeing with these…feelings. I was so tired and sore, there was such an obvious easy way to go to sleep. When it seemed as though I was sinking into a calm sea of complacency, one thought re-entered my mind.

Keelia! What about Keelia!? Did I not just watch her get beaten before my eyes? What was wrong with me? What was this quiet strange realm I was in? Was it real? I began to re-draw the lines in my head about what was black, and what was white because I was having trouble recalling. Keelia was out there somewhere, hurt and without me. Those wretched people…Arche, were back. Arche, the same people who killed and experimented on so many of my kin. Arche, the ones who took my son many years ago. Arche, the ones that we thought we had destroyed. Arche, the ones who will pay for this.

No, I was not going to be manipulated any longer.

The urgency of my situation caught up to me all at once. _No!_ I said in my mind, realizing the lies I had become okay with. Immediately, I felt the augmented reality that was projecting within my conscience warping and breaking down. It was almost as if a great blockage in my thinking was removed. There was more though that had happened. After a bright flash that burned through my closed eyelids, I opened my eyes and saw that I was free. Upon turning around, I found the pokeball that had contained me ajar and up on a low metal shelf. I shuttered as I stared at the damned piece of technology. Dazedly, I observed my surroundings.

I was in a small, dimly lit storage room. All around on the shelves were many different types of boxes containing what appeared to be documents, office equipment, and junk. Several more pokeballs, probably about a dozen in total, sat on the same shelf that the one that contained me was on. There was no denying it as I looked around though. This place looked and reeked of Arche. That same terrible smell of chemicals mixed with torture, the same dreary grey everything. The place sickened me, my girl was out there somewhere, and I was free to what I wanted. The humans possessed strange technologies that would suppress the powers of our kind, rendering us defenseless. I could not help but notice that I did not have one of those power limiting devices on me. That meant that all of the other that were presumably in those pokeballs did not either. A sly smirk grew across my face as I pondered this. I would not expect these Arche members to know that I could have broken out of their capture devices. Still, they had been slipping since the last time we fought them many years ago. They had another thing coming if they thought they could just skip what happened so many years ago and carry on with the heinous acts they were committing.

I focused my attention for a moment, clearing my mind of any distractions and noise. Once I was in a quasi-meditative state, I let the influence of my mind expand out around me beyond the walls of this room. Almost immediately I picked up on the thoughts of maybe a half dozen humans. At this sort of range, my telepathic link only allowed me to sense their thoughts, and not read them. That required direct eye contact. To my revulsion, three of the thought patterns felt very…surgical, almost like the scientists we had encountered several years ago when we were bringing Arche down. Some things never changed though, like human thought patterns. Ordered, procedural, and sterile is how these thoughts felt. That meant that they were conducting one of their experiments. I definitely sensed a thought pattern that was not human, it was a pokemon! Suddenly, I felt it diminish into a sedated state. Oh no, they had started! It was then that I realized that my body no longer bore the scars of battle. I had been healed, and I shuttered yet again when I realized why. They wanted me, and all of the others here, to be in perfect condition for their "testing." I could not allow that to happen; I had to act.

Breaking from my trance, I set my attention on the pokeballs on the shelf. I knew vaguely how these things worked, enough to know that pressing the button in the middle who cause the pokemon inside to come out. Without hesitation, I used my tail to press the buttons on all of the capture devices. Several bright flashes of light later, I saw many eeveelutions standing in a row. I recognized many of them as they all stared at me with confused expressions.

"Brothers and sisters! I'm going to have to ask you all to remain calm, but as some of you might have already guessed, Arche is back," I stated reluctantly.

It was hard to think they were back, let alone have to tell your friends that they were. To my surprise, they did not really respond in the shocked manner I thought they would. Some still looked confused, while others simply looked bored. Right! They had fallen under the influence of the pokeballs! As I felt their thoughts, I could sense the same sort of suppressed attitudes that I felt in every trained pokemon I battled. I racked my brain, trying to remember how to free them from this. Aha! It was the dial on the pokeball, I had to turn it. I brushed past between a flareon and a jolteon to get back to the shelf. By this time, everyone in the room was beginning to ask questions about where they were and where their trainer was. A chill went down my spine as I heard some of them say the latter. I was so glad that I resisted the capture device's influence.

Using one end of my forked tail to hold the balls down and the other to turn the dials, I went down the line of them turning off the odd mind influencing function. Out of the corner of my eye, I would see one of the eeveelutions stiffen up for a second the moment I turned one of the dials. By the time I was done, what I had said to them before had really sunk in. A certain Leafeon caught my attention; I did not notice her in my business. She lived close to Brennen, Keelia and I in our home near Goldenrod City. She and her mate, Tren, were quite young, seven years old last I remembered. They had only heard the stories about our war with Arche from years past, so it must have been very surreal and stressful for them. I could not help but notice that I did not see Tren around though.

"Vhena!" I whispered happily as I ran over to her.

"Vui! I'm just so glad to see you!" she said in a quiet, worried voice. "I came out of that strange device, and Tren was nowhere to be found. We were taken at the same time by a man in grey, but I don't see him anywhere around!" she said frantically, looking around the small room. It was then that I connected the dots. That one in the operating room must have been Tren.

"Vhena, I know where Tren is!" I said, trying to get the frantic grass-type to calm down.

Her expression relaxed a little bit at this, but I knew she was going to have a meltdown after I told her what else I knew. "I have done a bit of…reconnaissance on the area with my psychic abilities and found that he is probably being operated on at the moment," I said quickly and nervously, trying to pad it up as much as possible. As expected, she resumed her freak out. Before she got too far into it, I spoke again. This time, I was addressing everyone. It was not like they wouldn't listen to me, I was mated to the leader of the coalition of our kind across Johto.

"Yes, I also found that we outnumber the humans here. If we are fast, we can dispatch them quickly and get out of here. I managed somehow to resist the influence of the pokeball, so they aren't expecting an attack right now. You heard! One of our brothers, Tren, is currently being operated on by those terrible, malevolent people! We need to act!" I announced, that old animosity for Arche rekindled within me. "Everyone ready!?" I shouted, not bothering to be quiet anymore.

Without really listening or caring what everyone else's responses were, I focused my mind on the door to the room. The floor in front of me reflected the red light coming from my head gem as I charged energy. Once I gauged that I had enough power built up, I released a powerful psychic blast at the door. Wood splintered and metal grinded and the door was blasted off of its hinges and embedded in to the wall opposite of it. I lead the charge out of the room into the brightly lit hallway. Moving quickly, I instructed a few to go right down the hall, where they were met with a very surprised Arche underling. He was knocked out by five different attacks before he could react.

I, along with Vhena and the rest, turned left toward where I had sensed the operation occurring. Suddenly, an Arche guard exited from a door that had a small, blue human figure on it. He looked shocked to see us. I wasted no time picking him up psychically, and then throwing him harshly against the wall. He slumped down to the floor, unconscious. Quickly, I entered another trance, sensing the operation occurring in a room to the left just up ahead. Behind us, I could feel a pokemon that was not one of our own falling unconscious, followed by its Arche master. Good. I broke from my second trance and into a run, shouting for the rest to follow me. Soon, we stood outside the door to the operating room. Instead of blasting this door off of its hinges like the last one, I elected to try to the door quietly so as not to risk the safety of Tren. It was locked, so I instructed a flareon in our little entourage to melt the lock. She projected a jet of white hot flames from her mouth and almost immediately melted the metal lock with a loud hiss. Vhena came up next to me as I flung to door open violently.

Three humans dressed in long grey cloaks were already looking in our direction when we entered the room. One in particular caught our attention. He was holding some sort of syringe with a bright green liquid in it just inches above the prone Leafeon on the operating table. On instinct, both Vhena and I sent out our respective attacks. I lifted the syringe out of the Arche doctor's hand and flung it at the wall, where it shattered and spilled its strange green liquid everywhere. Vhena sent out several razor leaves at the doctors, one of them hitting the wrist of the man who was holding the syringe. As the three humans staggered back from the razor leaves, four more attacks came from the eeveelutions behind me. All three of them were knocked away from Tren, and two of them were knocked unconscious immediately. While Vhena attended to Tren, I approached the conscious doctor with fire in my eyes. This man was unlucky to be put in front of me like this. An Arche doctor just like him had caused the death of my son. Old pain and anger from years past flared up in me as I looked at this man. To my astonishment, the man gave me a cocky, defiant gaze. He also began to chuckle, seemingly to a joke in his own mind.

~What are you laughing about, filth?~ I said furiously, using telepathy. He chuckled a few more times at this before breaking into a fit of coughing.

"Oh, me? Just the things that we have figured out about you little freaks! It would ruin the surprise so much if I was to tell you though!" he cackled out. I was taken aback by this slightly, but I pressed in.

~You don't have to tell me, I'll find it for myself~ I alleged in defiance. The man laughed even louder in reaction. Again, slightly perturbed, I focused my mind on his. Before long, I broke into his thoughts and began scanning them. I noticed something odd about them immediately though. I was searching for a memory that matched his current feelings of strange excitement, but every memory associated with that feeling seemed…broken. I roamed over all of them that I could find, but they all appeared to have been erased. Well, almost. They were still there in his mind, but it seemed like I was being denied access to them. I had never experienced something like it before. My puzzled expression at this occurrence set the man off into a mad bout of cackling. I became annoyed with this man, and my anger swiftly returned to me. I growled, thinking of my son that I lost. I snarled, thinking of Keelia out there somewhere by herself. ~You piece of garbage! You're nothing! You have nothing on us, and you deserve to die!~ I all but screamed into his mind. That shut the man up. He scarcely had time to gulp before I lifted a surgical knife from the operating table and sent it flying at his neck. Blood gushed from the man's slit Jugular; he gagged for moment before losing consciousness.

I turned back to our victorious party of eeveelutions. All of them except Vhena, who was preoccupied with positioning Tren on her back using some vines, were looking at me fearfully.

"What?!" I asked loudly. I turned back to the dying man. "He got what was coming to him," I spoke, shaking my head. None seemed to disagree with me, and I can see why they were maybe a little freaked out. I mean, I was communicating telepathically, so they did not hear our whole exchange. They only heard that man's odd reactions. The sudden killing must have been a little bit of a shock. Regardless, we needed to get out of there in case any re-enforcements were called in. In a last act of spite against Arche as we were leaving the building, I sent a shadow ball each into the storage room and the operating room. They would not be able to salvage much from this wreckage.

As we joined up with the other group that had split off at the start of our little raid. we headed toward the exit. We heard a chattering sound from around a corner. We investigated it quickly to find that it was a guard that had regained consciousness and was speaking over some sort of communicator. As fast as I could, I picked up his head psychically and then slammed in onto the floor. His body went limp, but I knew that a message had likely gone out. We needed to leave and get as far away as possible before more came. With this in mind, I lead our group outside at a hurried pace.

I observed the building that we were trapped in and the area surrounding it as we moved quickly out of the area. It was a small, square, one floor office building with no distinguishing features. The area around seemed to be just woods as far as the eye could see, with the exception of a gravel access road winding off into the woodlands. It was a feeble operation they had out here, wherever "here" was. Even so, the fact still remained that Arche had returned from their ashes and they were very much active. Turning away from the building, I and my kin marched off into the woods.

_Don't you worry Keelia, I will find you._

(Will)

The tension in the air was so thick that I could have cut it with a knife. I stood, frozen in place, by this woman poised to shoot me in the head. I stole a glance over to where Keelia, Anthony, and Jet were. Four men had surrounded them, each packing their own pistol. Jet began to growl quietly, but went silent with a gesture from Anthony. I looked back at the woman in front of me. She was slightly less tall than I was with long black hair. I saw her eyes briefly flash to the wrench in my hand, so I dropped it and lifted my arms into the air above my head. My mind was an absolute maelstrom. I had so much adrenaline pumping through my veins that I probably would not even feel it if I was shot.

"What exactly are you doing?" she asked simply. I might have panicked a little too much in my reply to her.

"Look! I don't know who you are or if you work with that man" I shouted exasperatedly, pointing over to the man behind me on the ground. He quickly chimed in.

"No, I don't work with her! She is the ene-" he was interrupted by the woman firing her gun. I jumped, as did everyone else around. It was merely a warning shot fired at the ground in front of the bleeding and trembling man, but it revealed some interesting things regarding her thoughts toward this man. Did this woman have some sort of vendetta against the man in grey? Was she some sort of loose cannon cop? That question was answered as she spoke again.

"Nobody asked you anything! You'll get to talk later!" she growled at the man, as a thin trail of smoke began rising from the muzzle of her pistol. In reply, the man put his face in his hands. She looked back up, speaking again in her calm voice to me. "So, you were saying?"

"Uh…well yes." I stuttered out, having to recollect my thoughts that were flying around at a million miles an hour in my mind. "This man hurt my friend, Keelia." I stated, a bit calmer. I motioned over to the scared Eevee on the other side of the road. "She and her mother, Vui were brutally beaten at the hands of this man. Vui, and likely many others, were taken by this man for Arceus knows what." I sighed angrily. "I was furious and I wanted answers from him."

"Fair enough," she said simply, nodding at the other men that were with her. She coolly spun her handgun around on her finger before holstering it. The men walked over and handcuffed the man, then they walked him over to a black SUV a little further down the road. I had not even seen it there. "I think you deserve to know who that man was and who we are. All of you do," she said, waving for Keelia, Jet, and Anthony to come over. "You must have many questions. Oh, and call me Kimono."

"Thank you, Kimono," I replied.

"First of all, that man dressed in grey clothing is what's called a 'collection agent' for a criminal organization known as Arche," she started.

"Wait, Arche? As in the concept from early philosophy?" I interjected.

"Exactly. That concept that baffled the early philosophers. They, long ago, were in search of the one thing, the Arche, that was behind everything in existence. They had an obsession with thinking that everything was essentially composed of one substance originally. Some claimed that the Arche was air, while others said it was water. Ultimately, truth eluded them."

"So, what does this have to do with a modern criminal organization?"

"Arche has many goals that are related to the history behind their name. For instance, they seek to find the one thing behind all logical thought. Once they find it, Arecus forbid they have, they intend on controlling it. That is also why they wear grey as a uniform. The single plain color reflects their goal of finding that one thing." I shivered, and it was not because of the dropping temperature. That was a truly terrifying thought. People having the power to literally control minds…just chilling. She continued despite seeing the unsettled looks on all of our faces. "You might have wondered why they target Eevees and their evolutions. You see, they possess very malleable DNA, and they represent the most basic forms of the elements. This makes them ideal test subjects for Arche's research into controlling the elemental powers of pokemon. Their ultimate goal still remains a mystery to us, but we fight them because the heinous crimes against Pokémon that they commit. This 'testing' they conduct often kills the subjects, and they seem to have an insatiable appetite for them." Kimono paused, letting out a deep sigh. "They don't and never will care about the families they tore apart and the hearts they broke of both people and Pokémon. We fight them for that very reason."

"Ah…well, I see." I replied, staring off into space processing everything that Kimono explained. "So, what are you? And who is 'we'?"

"I am a leader in an Arche counter-organization known as Apeiron. The Apeiron was a counter-argument to the Arche among great early thinkers. Decades ago, we banded together to fight the evil that we saw in Arche. Truly, we were just young and reckless people who were fighting where the police weren't. See, even back then, Arche had much influence, and they had law enforcement turn a blind eye while cash moved under the table." Kimono said in a disgusted tone. I shared in her sentiment; that was just plain wrong. "Their evil caught up with them though. The population of Eevees and their evolutions had reached a breaking point with the despicable people. We had a sort of agreement with them, and we joined forces and struck at the very heart of Arche. It was 'the raid to end all other raids' we said, and we were almost right. From all accounts, we destroyed Arche and wiped their name from the earth. It was only until I caught word of Arche's return, not even a month ago, that I realized that we needed to regroup and stop this malicious organization from returning to their former glory. That is why you are seeing us here today. We were tracking down this collection agent to take him in for interrogation. Even so, I still find it hard to believe that after nearly twenty years, they are back." She shook her head, as though she was dismissing bad memories from her mind.

"That is a lot to take in, but thanks again Kimono. You know, especially for not shooting us." I said seriously.

"Oh, we were only confused, and we never really had the intention to shoot you all," The Apeiron leader said, chuckling. "It was just very perplexing to see this man that we had been stalking basically captured and, erm, suppressed before we had a chance to get at him. As you might have already guessed, we sabotaged his van and were planning to confront him ourselves." Kimono turned around and made a twirling gesture with her index finger at the black SUV behind her. Moments later, it was pulled up next to her and she hopped up into the passenger seat. "We must be going now. I wish you luck on your search to reunite the little one's family. It is a great thing you are doing. Anyway, farewell! Be safe, and be on guard always." She said genuinely, shutting the car door and taking off.

Well, that certainly was a lot to think about. Powerful underground criminal organizations that wanted to control minds? The craziness of it was lost on my overworked mind, but one thing shone through my thoughts clearly. Vui was free somewhere to the south of Blackthorn City, and we only need to find her. I spoke up, breaking the heavy silence that had fallen over our group as we all tried to make sense of everything that had transpired.

"All crooks and crime fighters aside, I don't know if you guys caught what the Arche agent said. He said in so many words that Vui had somehow freed herself and the others, and escaped from a facility down south of Blackthorn City," I said jubilantly to everyone. Keelia perked up at this.

"I know, I heard! With everything that happening, I didn't know what to think. But that is _such _a relief to hear!" she said, tears of pure relief and contentment filling her brown eyes. Anthony and Jet both looked on with earnest smiles. I wanted to hold Keelia and celebrate this moment with her, but she shied away from my touch as I bent down to lift her up. I soon realized why. Speckles of blood from the Arche agent were scattered up and down my hands and forearms. I was reminded of apparently what I could do in my anger. It almost scared me, realizing the amount of damage I had done to that man. For sure, he had what was coming to him, but I just had never hurt someone at that sort of level. I quickly fished a rag and a water bottle out of my backpack and cleaned my arms of the blood. After I was done, I knelt down and picked up Keelia, resuming our little moment as if nothing had happened.

"See what I mean by hope, Key?" I asked, holding the top of her head under my chin. "We always had something to hold onto." I blabbered on sentimentally. I was thankful that Anthony and Jet were patient, because I just stood there for a little while holding Keelia. Somehow, I felt so relieved by this revelation. In all seriousness, Vui was her mother after all. Maybe I felt this way because I never knew my mother, so in some odd way I was relating to Key in that vein. Even so, it melted my heart to see that constant burden gone from her eyes. It even brought a few tears to my eyes, feeling the tenseness not so present in her muscles. Eventually though, we set off again down the road.

Ironically enough, the first signs of the city were visible around the next bend in the road. Into the chilly northern Johto dusk we walked, passing by old and new buildings with unique architecture. After a couple more miles of walking, we reached the center of the city, and there the Ecruteak City Pokémon center. We all got a room together, and settled down early. It was safe to say that we all needed some rest after a day like that one.

(Keelia)

I had never told Will how loud he snored sometimes. It was okay, I could deal with it in most cases. I however did not know how loud Jet snored too! It was almost unbearable, and there was no way I could fall asleep with them doing this. I was already having trouble falling asleep with all the things that had taken place during the day. Anyway, for Will, I did what I normally did when he started snoring a lot. Bracing my hind legs down into the mattress, I rolled him over with my front paws. After I did that, he really quieted down. He was such a heavy sleeper, so I need not worry about him waking up. I then turned my sights on Jet. I was not sure how he would react, but frankly, I did not care all that much. Again, same procedure, but his time with a smaller Quilava. After I heaved him over, he snorted once very loud before curling up with an unintelligible grunt. I nearly burst out laughing at this. Mission accomplished, the obnoxious Quilava had been silenced. I went back to mine and Will's bed and settled down to sleep in glorious silence. The only sound was the steady breathing pattern of Will, which lulled me off to sleep.

A dream that I had been having for the past few nights showed up again that night. It was always the same, but every time I felt the same feelings. I knew how it ended, yet I still held out a sort of hope for what was to come at the ending. It went like this.

I was in a blurry forest, confused about something. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a light purple forked tail slide through to the other side of some foliage. I always thought it was Vui, so I took off after it. For a long while, I would catch glimpses of it just out of my main field of view, and would keep chasing it. Eventually somewhere along the way, I would see my mother standing there in front of me. I ran to embrace her, but right before I reached her, I fell into some sort of dark void right in front of her. The world all around me turned to blackness as I fell and fell. The only thing that did not turn to sheer blackness was mom as she slowly shrunk away far above me. That is the nightmare that plagued my sleep for the past week. Recent events seemed to have changed this dream though, as I soon found out.

It began like normal, with the out of focus landscape and the tail sticking out of the bushes. Something was different this time though. It felt like I was more in control of my actions than any other time. There was an Espeon that was friends with my mother who told me about this phenomenon. She said it was something called lucid dreaming or something, and it felt bizarre. After overcoming the strange feeling of lucid dreaming, I proceeded into the bushes like I normally would along this ethereal progression. To my surprise, I saw my mom's full beautiful form standing in front of me on the other side of the foliage.

"Mom!" I shouted, sprinting up to the Espeon. On a learned disciple though, I stopped a little ways before her. "Are you real?" I asked sullenly, not expecting to hear anything in reply. Despite how different this dream had felt so far, I lacked the confidence that it would go all well. I shut my eyes tightly, waiting for the worst. A calm voice forced me to reconsider.

"I'm right here, Keelia. I don't want you to worry. You're my beautiful little Eevee," Came the soft, caring voice of my mother. There was no way, I almost did not want to believe it. I looked up, recoiling slightly seeing that my mother was right in front of me. She was smiling, as if nothing was wrong with the world. Abandoning my fears, I embraced her in the way of our kind, nuzzling into her soft lilac neck. She returned the embrace, rubbing into my bushy neck fur. "I love you so much, my dear," is all she said. I could not believe that she was here with me. I just stood there, weeping peacefully until I gently felt myself waking up. I reluctantly stepped back as my dream world began to dissolve. The last thing I remember before completely waking up was my mother's comforting smile. That was certainly a much better dream than what I was expecting.

I awoke to Will gently running his thumb over the top of my head, between my ears. It was a great way to wake up. As I slowly opened my eyes, he spoke softly.

"Morning Key, I see you were having a good dream," he said gently, continuing his soft strokes on my head.

"Good morning, Will," I whispered. "How did you know that I was having a good dream?" I asked.

"Well, you seemed to be sleeping much more peacefully than over the past few days. That, and you were smiling and crying in your sleep, which I assumed to be from happiness," Will said softly, smiling. "What was it about? Do you remember?"

"Y-yes I do," I said, going on to explain the dream that I normally had, and then the one that I had just had. He smiled just as warmly as my mother had in the dream while I told him all about it. He then picked me up, and held me up above him as he laid on the bed.

"That's amazing Key! I'm so glad to see you cheering up!" he said below me. I giggled in response as I was held up above Will's head. Before I knew what was happening, he pulled me back down into his chest and hugged me close. We stayed like this for a little while. "I know she isn't here right now, but now it is just a matter of time until we find your mother, and you'll see her in real life!"

"I know, I'm excited," I replied, fully believing it. Will had told me time and time again to have hope, and hold onto it. I never really felt like I fully agreed with him until now. I was always sort of halfway there with my responses. I did not want to get my hopes up just to have them crushed. Now though, I could rest in that hope confidently.

Soon enough, Anthony and Jet were up as well, so we packed up wasting no time. We checked out of the room, got some food, and then hit the road after re-stocking supplies at a grocery store. Because of the general heaviness of things that had just happened, any attempt at conversation usually did not merit much. Everyone seemed to just be processing today. That was okay, I enjoyed the quiet sometimes. Eventually though, normal conversation resumed as if nothing had happened. I, too, did not want to dwell to much longer on the things that we had seen and heard, and it was always fun to joke around and get distracted. We were all laughing and having a good walk by the time the sun was setting. Soon, we found a suitable flat area off the route that we were walking along and set up camp there.

The days came and went as we journeyed closer and closer to Blackthorn City. It became less of a stressing, search mission, and more of a fun trip with friends. The only time we really ever came across another town, or really stopped, was when we passed through Mahogany Town. Even there, we only stopped for a night to sleep in a real bed and resupply. Humans had some pretty weird inventions in their bedrooms and bathrooms, but I have to say that their beds are amazing!

So, on we journeyed through a part of Johto that I really had never seen, though I had traveled so very close to it. Far off in the distance, I could see the huge form of Mount Silver looming over the land. See, when my mother and I went up to the ceremony every year at Mount Silver. We chose to take the path that led through rolling foothills and vast forests south of the eastward human route. The only time that we ever came close to it was when we crossed it just south of Blackthorn city to get over to the mountains beyond. Now I wondered just how close my mom was to the spot we crossed over at when she was held in that facility south of Blackthorn. I hoped that it was not too far down there.

Because of the stress of losing my mother and this whole journey and everything else that had been going on, I never really considered the idea of what the evolution ceremony was going to be like. I know I had been in attendance all the other times, and seen my friends and cousins evolve, but I was going to be up there choosing this time. My mind was set though on what I was going to evolve into; it was always a dream that I had. I could not wait for that on top of how I could not wait to see my mother, but this journey with Will, Jet, and Anthony was more than enough to hold me over.

An issue became more apparent though as we walked on and on. Anthony and Jet had said that they needed to take care of something in Blackthorn City. It was something about an odd job building a fence and planting a garden for this elderly couple that was friends of his family or something. The important thing was that those two were not going to be with us for a couple of weeks after we arrived in Blackthorn City. That just left Will and I to find my mother, granted we did not find her before then. I had grown to like Will more than anyone I had ever known, and he really did seem like a big brother in many way. I wanted him to be there when I evolved, but I didn't know how my mom would feel about that, let alone the entire congregation that gathered there. I hoped I could convince her, because she had a strong influence over all of the others.

Despite all of these thoughts I was having, the journey was enjoyable in its many ways. I got to see Will and Anthony up to their shenanigans. They were like little kids when they were around each other. It was hard to wear a frown just listening to their antics. Along the way, I got to know that loudmouth Quilava, Jet, even more. The guy was loyal and strong, but a complete klutz. Well, that is until he entered a battle. Now, battling in my mind was something that just came naturally to Pokémon sometimes. I could appreciate it for what it was, a very active and aggressive contact sport. Never could I see myself actually doing it, especially under the command of a human. I was glad that Will shared my view on this. Still, seeing how Anthony and Jet fought in Pokémon battles together was really awesome. It was not so much about the brute strength or speed, but about the trust that those two had. Even though they could not understand one another as Will and I could, they still seemed to be able to communicate well enough. They were dependent on each other in those few minutes of battling, and that trust and friendship made them strong. I remember Will being surprised one night, looking through Anthony's bag for some water to cook with. He found something called a "badge case," and was very shocked to find seven badges in it. Will told me that was a really big accomplishment, but I did not really know what he was talking about with badges and everything. Anthony then got all embarrassed at the attention, and then quickly put them up and changed the subject. I still do not know what that was all about.

Finally, after over four weeks of travel, we arrived at the limits of Blackthorn City. The terrain had changed from gentle rolling foothills into towering mountains. It seemed unlikely to me that anyone would try to build a city up here, but I was surprised at just how big and hospitable this place was. A wide, flat arm extending from the main ridge of Mount Silver was where this city was built. We entered, walking along the main road that was paved with huge slabs of rock likely taken from the very mountain that they sat upon. Even the buildings themselves seemed to be made out of solid rock to brave even the fiercest storms that would hit these mountains.

A few blocks from the heart of the city, Anthony announced that the place he was heading to was just down a side street, so we followed him up a steep side road. After a few more minutes of walking, we arrived at the small stone home of Anthony's elderly friends. As expected, the fence out front was not finished and the garden was not planted. We were introduced to the old couple that lived there who friends of Anthony's grandparents or whatever. They were very welcome and touchy-feely, and I did not approve of the latter. Old humans smelled really weird, and I did not want to be there any longer than we had to be.

Will and I reluctantly stayed for dinner there, where I was treated like a pet. This is one thing that I really do not like about humans. They look down on us as if we were dumb or slow. They talk slowly and with babyish voices. I never really understood it, but Will seemed to go against the grain of the culture here. I was thankful for that. The one saving grace of this little trip we made up here was the view from the upstairs loft that we just _had_ to see according to the old people. They were right about that. The sun was just dipping below the horizon, and vibrant colors painted the clear mountain sky. As far as the eye could see was just flat land. From up here, we could see over the rooftops of the downtown area below and out into easily half of the Johto region. It was absolutely breathtaking.

Soon enough, we were saying goodbye to Anthony and Jet. Anthony and Will hugged, and Jet got up on his hind legs and held out his stubby arms to me with a smirk. I laughed and let him hug me. After that, we were on our way down from the house and out of the city, a cool mountain breeze blowing from behind us and seemingly pushing us along toward mom. The sun lost its strength soon after we left the city limits, so we decided to set up on the flattest ground we could find. We both went to sleep that night wondering just how long it would be until we finally found my mom. I knew she was close. I could feel it.

I awoke feeling exhausted, as if I had not slept at all. I opened my eyes to see the moon through the top vent of the tent. It had not even been an hour judging on its position. Will shifted around a little, and I realized that he was awake too.

"You awake too, Key?" he said drowsily.

"Yeah," I simply replied.

"Huh, that is odd. It has only been a little over an hour, and we had a tough hike today-" he started to say, but was interrupted by some bizarre sounding voice. After a brief pause he asked, "What in the world was that?"

I had heard it too. The voice sounded far away, and almost ghostly. Was it a ghost-type Pokémon? Will and I exchanged confused looks in the moonlight, keeping quiet to hopefully hear it again. Sure enough, we heard it a second time.

~Keelia,~ it whispered no louder than a distant rustle of leaves. Though quiet, there was no mistaking who it was and what it said. I gasped both in sheer excitement and shock. I turned to look at Will, and he was wearing a similar expression.

"That's her! That's mom Will! I know it! You heard too! It's her! It's really, really her!" I squealed, not able to contain it all. It really was her! She was projecting her thoughts for us to hear! My eyes misted over knowing I was this close to her. By this time, Will had already grabbed a flashlight and unzipped the door to the tent. Without wasting a moment, we were out in the moonlit night.

We both paused, holding still and listening for mom to call out again. After a few moments of just hearing idle forest noise, mom's louder and much clearer voice sounded out into the our minds.

~Keelia! Where are you? I know you are around here somewhere!~ she said desperately. Something about her tone unnerved me slightly, but it was still my mom! At long, long last, we found her!

"Mom!" I shouted, voice cracking from my flaring emotions. "I'm over here! Mom!"

~Keelia! Oh, finally!~ we both heard an exasperated reply. I bolted off into the night, catching a whiff of her scent. What was that I smelled also? Was that blood? It did not matter though, mom was so close! I ran and ran, throwing up leaves and dirt behind me. I felt a little sorry if I was pelting Will and the face with any of this stuff. I seemed to be leaving him behind a little bit, as the beam of his flashlight had faded away from behind me. At last, I looked ahead and saw the very thing that I had sought after for so long. All of the pain from the past five weeks dissolved as I looked at an Espeon standing in the moonlight a short distance away.

"Mooooom!" I practically howled, the tears flowing freely as her purple eyes met mine. I closed the distance between us and embraced her, finally in real life and not my dreams. We held the embrace for a little while, our tears soaking into each other's neck fur.

The moment was broken by a loud, wet fit of coughing from my mother. She began to lean very heavily on me. I caught the scent of blood much heavier now. She wheezed loudly, and then groaned softly. I felt her lift herself off of my frame, and looked up at her in horror to see a thin trail of blood on her muzzle. I glanced back quickly at where she coughed into my neck to see that the white collar fur was stained red. Shock and terror ripped through me like a sharpened claw upon seeing this. As I looked back up to her face, she smiled weakly.

"I'm so glad to see that you're okay…Kee-Keelia," she rasped before collapsing on the ground in front of me. Will's flashlight beam then illuminated the scene. I saw that my mother's beautiful body was dirty, cut, and bruised in many places. Her eyes were shut and she was not moving.

"Mom!? Mooooooom!? No! No!" My scream echoed out into the night.


End file.
